Understanding Meteors: Nature's Celestial Fireworks

Often called shooting stars, meteors are space debris that burn up upon entering Earth's atmosphere. These interstellar particles, mostly dust-sized, create a streak of light as they disintegrate.

Meteors vaporize in the atmosphere. If they survive and hit the Earth's surface, they become meteorites. Meteoroids are space rocks before they enter the atmosphere, ranging from dust to boulder size.

When Earth passes through a comet's debris, we experience meteor showers. These events, like the Perseids, occur annually as Earth intersects with the comet's orbit, bringing spectacular light displays.

The Hoba meteorite in Namibia is the largest known on Earth, weighing about 60 tons. It's composed of iron and nickel and has never been moved from where it fell.

In 1908, a massive explosion in Siberia flattened trees over 2,000 square kilometers. The Tunguska event is believed to be caused by a meteoroid that never hit the ground but exploded in the atmosphere.

Ancient cultures often interpreted meteors as omens. The Greeks named them 'meteoros', meaning 'high in the air', and some cultures considered them as messages from the gods or fallen stars.

Meteors can speed through the atmosphere at up to 72 kilometers per second. Despite their impressive light shows, most are just the size of a pebble.

Some meteors create sonic booms audible on Earth, caused by their supersonic entry speeds. These booms can be heard up to 50 miles away.