Trending

Meteors

Meteors, also known as shooting stars, are pieces of dust and debris from space that burn up in Earth's atmosphere, where they can create bright streaks across the night sky. When Earth passes through the dusty trail of a comet or asteroid's orbit, the many streaks of light in the sky are known as a meteor shower. Particularly large chunks of material can create an extra-bright fireball streak, but most meteors are still small enough to entirely burn up in Earth's atmosphere. If a meteor makes it to Earth it's known as a meteorite. Before they hit atmosphere the objects are called meteoroids. 

Related Topics: Asteroids, Aurora Borealis, Comets 

Latest Updates

Last Sunday (Sept. 20), the European Space Agency's ExoMars mission was moved from the Thales Alenia Space facilities to Cannes, France. The mission includes the Rosalind Franklin rover, which has a specialized drill to gather samples from beneath the Martian surface.

Pictures from space! Our image of the day

By Space.com Staff

Last Sunday (Sept. 20), the European Space Agency's ExoMars mission was moved from the Thales Alenia Space facilities to Cannes, France.

A color-coded gravity image of the Ora Banda Impact Crater site. The crater (deep blue) is in the middle of the image.

Gold miners discover 100 million-year-old meteorite crater Down Under

By Laura Geggel

About 100 million years ago, a gigantic meteorite collided with Australia, creating a 3-mile-wide impact crater.

A cross section of a small Aguas Zarcas fragment shows colorful clays that might include complex organic compounds.

Rainbow meteorite discovered in Costa Rica may hold building blocks of life

By Rafi Letzter

A small, soft smacked into Costa Rica on April 23, 2019. And it carried dust older than our sun, as well as clues regarding how life formed on Earth.

An image of a piece of the Antarctic meteorite Asuka 12236 as seen through a microscope; the sample is about 0.3 inches (1 centimeter) across.

Astonishingly old Antarctic space rock could explain mystery of life's weird asymmetry

By Meghan Bartels

Life is asymmetrical, and a time capsule of the earliest days of the solar system may explain why.

A Perseid meteor streaks across the sky above a group of campers at the Negev Desert near the city of Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, on Aug. 11, 2020.

Perseid meteor shower 2020 brings celestial fireworks to the night sky (photos)

By Hanneke Weitering

The Perseid meteor shower, one of the most famous annual "shooting star" displays, reached its peak activity this week, putting on a spectacular show for skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere.

Catch the Perseid meteor shower in a Slooh webcast on Aug. 12 at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT).

You can see the 2020 Perseid meteor shower in a free Slooh webcast tonight

By Hanneke Weitering

The annual Perseid meteor shower has just peaked, but it's not too late to spot one of the famed "shooting stars" in the night sky — or in a live webcast.

In this 30 second exposure, a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower Friday, Aug. 12, 2016 in Spruce Knob, West Virginia.

Perseid meteor shower 2020 weather forecast: Here's what to expect in the US for tonight's peak!

By Joe Rao

The 2020 Perseid meteor shower peaks overnight tonight (Aug. 11 and 12). Here's the U.S. weather forecast.

A meteor can be seen streaking across the sky above Washington, D.C. in this ten-second exposure taken of the annual Perseids meteor shower on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015.

The Perseid meteor shower of 2020 peaks tonight! Here's how to watch live.

By Chelsea Gohd

The Perseids are back! This week, you can catch the annual meteor shower, a favorite of many skywatchers, as it peaks thanks to four livestreams.

A Perseid meteor spotted by the NASA All-Sky Fireball Network in August 2020.

NASA cameras catch early fireballs from Perseid meteor shower of 2020 (video)

By Mike Wall

NASA's All-Sky Fireball Network captured Perseid meteors streaking overhead on Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 8 and Aug. 9).

A time-lapse image shows Perseid meteors in August 2009.

Moon may outshine Perseids this 'meteor month'

By Joe Rao

Skywatchers beware: the moon will hinder attempts to observe the Perseids, typically one of the best meteor displays of the year.

This amazing view of a Perseid meteor was captured by amateur astronomers Stojan Stojanovski, Kristijan Gjoreski and Igor Nastoski of the Ohrid Astronomy Association in Ohrid, Macedonia during the peak of the Perseid meteor shower on Aug. 12-13, 2015.

Perseid meteor shower 2020: When, where & how to see it

By Sarah Lewin, Space.com Staff

An artist's image of the last seconds in the prehistoric village of Abu Hureyra, where a fireball from the sky likely destroyed the village.

Death from above? Fireball may have destroyed ancient Syrian village

By Nola Taylor Redd

An ancient Syrian village was destroyed by a fireball from the sky, scientists suspect.

A blue fireball streaks across the sky.

Mysterious blue fireball streaks above Western Australia, puzzling astronomers

By Stephanie Pappas

Scientists aren't sure if space junk or a meteor caused a brilliant blue fireball seen across Western Australia.

A brilliant fireball lights up the night sky over Knoxville, Tennessee, in this cell phone video captured from a moving vehicle by witness Austin R. at 9:42 p.m. EDT on June 7, 2020 (0142 GMT June 8).

Brilliant fireball lights up skies over Tennessee (video)

By Tariq Malik

A meteor lit up the night sky over Tennessee and neighboring states late Sunday (June 7), sparking 120 fireball sightings across 12 different nearby states and Canada.

Original artwork depicting the moment the asteroid struck 66 million years ago, in what is now Mexico.

Fiery meteor that doomed the dinosaurs struck at 'deadliest possible' angle

By Mindy Weisberger

The asteroid that sealed the dinosaurs' fate at the end of the Cretaceous struck at an angle that was the worst-case scenario for life on Earth.

A mysterious blast in 1908, thought to have been caused by a meteor, flattened a Siberian taiga forest. This photo was taken in 1938, during an expedition by Russian mineralogist Leonid Kulik, investigating the event.

Meteor that blasted millions of trees in Siberia only 'grazed' Earth, new research says

By Mindy Weisberger

Scientists have a new explanation for an explosive cosmic event in 1908 that flattened trees for hundreds of miles in a remote Siberian forest.

This sky map shows the location of the constellation Ursa Minor (Little Bear), the star pattern from which the annual Ursid meteor shower appears to radiate from.

The Ursid meteor shower: A sparkling winter show

By Adam Mann

Bear with us for meteors.

The Japanese company ALE (Astro Live Experiences) aimed to create an artificial meteor shower with its small satellite ALE-2.That attempt has failed.

Japanese satellite filled with 'shooting star' pellets won't spawn artificial meteor shower after all

By Mike Wall

We'll have to wait another three years or so to see a Japanese company's first big artificial-meteor sky show.

Justin Ng of Singapore captured this view of a bright Eta Aquarid meteor hurtling across the night sky over Mount Bromo, on the Indonesian island of Java.

Eta Aquarid meteor shower 2020: When, where and how to see it

By Jesse Emspak

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower from late April to mid-May offers a long stretch of spectacular 'shooting stars' that even a casual observer can spot in the night sky.

An Eta Aquarid fireball lights up the sky over Devils Tower, part of the Bear Lodge Mountains in Wyoming. Astrophotographer David Kingham captured this shot during the 2013 Eta Aquarid meteor shower.

The 2020 Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks tonight! See 'crumbs' of Comet Halley rain on Earth

By Joe Rao

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks overnight tonight (May 4), with the best views arriving before dawn on Tuesday (May 5).