Meteor Facts - All About Meteors

Observing meteors in the sky is one of the fun experiences for beginner astronomers. You will be able to view meteor showers without using any telescope. However, If you want more details, you can view them with a minor or sizeable optical telescope. However, it is fun to spot them without using any telescope. If you are away from city lights, meteor showers will be easily viewable, and you will spot many meteors in the sky.

What are Meteors ?

Meteors are space particles that enter the Earth’s atmosphere and vaporize. Outside the Earth’s atmosphere, they are known as meteoroids, and once they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, they are called meteors. They last for a minimal amount of time, and sometimes you can see a few that light up the sky. Meteors appear in the mesosphere and are visible between 40 to 75 miles.

Facts on Meteors

• More than a million meteorites fall to Earth daily; some are too small to cause harm.
• Meteorites are also known as falling stars or shooting stars.
• The speed of meteorites is breakneck (some are known to enter Earth's atmosphere at 130,000 miles per hour.)
• Meteorites are classified as Stony, Iron, and Stony-iron.
• Meteorites contain some of the minerals which are not found on the Earth. They are also known to contain the oldest rock in our solar system.
• Meteorites recovered after being observed as they impacted the Earth are called falls, while other meteorites are called finds.
• In South Africa, all the found meteorites are protected under national heritage law and are supposed to surrender to national authority.
• Some people sell meteorites on eBay (people interested in magic stuff or astronomy usually buy them).
• Meteorites are named based on the region in which the fall occurred.
• Space stations are designed with shields to protect them against meteor showers and random rock damage.
• Some meteors that appear on the Radar are the size of the dust.
• Ionization of the molecules in the Meteor trail shows the respective color as oxygen-based molecules would result in green color.
• Every year we can observe around 30 Meteor showers. Meteor showers were named according to the constellations or inventor, Nakshatras (Hindu Astro system).
• The meteor that survives Earth's gravity and reaches the Earth is called Meteorite.
• Some people professionally collect the Meteorites and sell them on eBay, Etsy, and other social media marketplaces for serious money.
• Some Meteors can contain some of the oldest rocks in the Universe as they are scattered after the destruction of that celestial object over the years.
• Most of the Meteors are the property of the Govt under which the land comes. Most of the people who happen to sell them online either do it illegally or claim to have ownership due to the land under which it was found.
• A Perseid Meteor shower comes at the speed of 130k MPH towards Earth.
  So far, the only Meteorite impact that hurt humans is one. At least, that is what is recorded as of yet.
• X-ray slap is used to deflect Meteors in space.

Perseids Meteor Shower

The Perseids meteor shower is one of the oldest meteor showers observed on Earth. Every year from mid-July, Perseid meteor showers are visible in the skies above the northern hemisphere. Perseid meteor shower has peak activity at the start of August. Perseid showers are named after the Greek mythological term "perceives." Some even refer to Perseid showers as "Tears of St. Lawrence." Perseid are so-called because they appear to originate from the constellation Perseus.

If you want to observe deep sky objects and meteors, drive away from the city lights. Find a place where you can get a dark, secluded spot to get a clear view of the sky.