Shooting Stars

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Have you ever looked into the sky and wished upon a shooting star? Shooting stars, so cherished by children who want nothing more than for their one wish, and desire to be fulfilled.  But are shooting stars really that special, and do they really possess the ability to grant wishes? No.  They are merely pieces of the solar system falling through earth’s atmosphere.

These pieces of the solar system, called meteoroids are entering into earth’s atmosphere and burning up.  They are met with a great amount of air friction as they enter the atmosphere and are heated immensely.  So what is actually being seen when you see a shooting star, is the glowing hot meteoroid material, and the heated atmospheric gases surrounding it.  The glowing streak scene across the sky, is known as a meteor.  The brightest of these meteors is often referred to by star gazers as a fireball.  Even these larger meteors are often only visible for no more than a second.

Since millions of these meteoroids enter earth’s atmosphere each day, you may wonder why seeing shooting stars is not a more common occurrence, like why isn’t the night sky just lit up with these “falling stars”.  Well it is quite simple, most of the meteors that are visible to the naked eye are produced by meteoroids that are no bigger than the size of a pebble.  And they only become visible between about 70 and 45 miles above the earth.  So if the meteoroid burns up while still at too high of an altitude, or is just not big enough when it reaches the visible range it will not make a visible meteor.

At times when earth is experiencing a meteor shower, shooting stars are often seen several times a minute, and can be a very brilliant show.  These showers usually occur when earth moves through the cloud or trail of a comet.  All the trails are moving the same way, and create a plethora of shooting stars in one area.  So do they grant wishes? No, but they are definitely something pleasing to view, and enjoy.

The next Meteor Shower is: Quadrantids in the evening of January 3, 2009.  The moon is only in the first quarter at this time, the sky will be dimmer whitch is best for viewing.  Street lights, moon light, trees, and builings can block ones view so if there is an open field, roof top or balcony that should be the best place for viewing.

NOTE: This meteor shower information in for USA ONLY!

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