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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 

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Pictures from Space! Our Image of the Day

By Space.com Staff

This year's Leonid meteor shower will likely be disappointing.

The Leonid Meteor Shower 2019 Is Peaking Now: Here's What to Expect

By Joe Rao

It's going to be a poor year for one of the most famous meteor showers, the Leonids.

Leonid meteors move so fast that the air in front of the meteor is compressed and heated by ram pressure, the heated air scorches the meteor.

Leonid Meteor Shower: Bright Fireballs in November

By Elizabeth Howell

The Leonids take place every year in November. Once a generation, it is possible for a storm of meteors to occur with a peak of about 1,000 an hour – or even more.

Skywatcher Jim Gamble of El Paso, Texas created this composite image of the 2010 Leonid meteor shower display using an allsky camera.

The Leonid Meteor Shower Explained in 10 Facts

By Robert Roy Britt

A fireball meteor lights up the night sky above the Gateway Arch in St. Louis on Nov. 11, 2019.

Watch a Brilliant Fireball Flash Over St. Louis' Historic Arch (Video)

By Samantha Mathewson

A bright fireball meteor streaked across the night sky above Missouri Monday (Nov. 11), passing over St. Louis' iconic Gateway Arch.

The nearly full supermoon Beaver Moon rises over the Syr Darya river near the Baikonur Cosmodrome spaceport in Kazakhstan on Nov. 13, 2016 in this view by NASA photographer Bill Ingalls.

November Full Moon 2019: See the 'Beaver Moon' (and Meteors) Tonight!

By Jesse Emspak

The full moon of November, called the Beaver Moon, will shine in the constellation Aries on Nov. 12, the same day as the peak of the Northern Taurid meteor shower.

Astrophotographer Sébastien Joly captured this photo of a Taurid meteor captured over Lake Cerknica in Slovenia, on Nov. 10, 2015.

The 2019 Taurid Meteor Shower Peaks Soon. Here's What to Expect.

By Joe Rao

The next few weeks might be a good time to keep a close watch on the night sky, for if you're lucky, you just might catch sight of a spectacularly bright meteor, also known as a fireball.

A still from a video shows a fireball passing over Kyoto, Japan after 1 a.m. on April 28, 2017.A still from a video shows a fireball passing over Kyoto, Japan after 1 a.m. on April 28, 2017

Fireball That Flew Over Japan in 2017 Was Tiny Piece of Giant Asteroid that Might One Day Threaten Earth

By Rafi Letzter

If you'd looked up into the sky in Kyoto, Japan, on April 28, 2017, you may have seen a preview of an event that could, far down the road, threaten the whole Earth.

Astrophotographer Jeff Berkes snapped this amazing photo of an Orionid meteor streaking above a lake in Elverson, Pa., on Oct. 22, 2011, during the peak of the annual Orionid meteor shower.

Orionid Meteor Shower 2019: When, Where & How to See It

By Elizabeth Howell

The Orionid meteor shower is peaks in the early morning of Tuesday, Oct. 22, but a bright moon will disrupt viewing until shortly before dawn.

The constellation Orion the Hunter takes center stage in this Orionid meteor shower shot by astrophotographer Gowrishankar Lakshminarayanan. He captured these Orionid meteors streaking through the sky over New York's Catskill Mountains on Oct. 21, 2017.

The Orionid Meteor Shower 2019 Peaks Tonight! Here's What to Expect

By Joe Rao

October's Orionid meteor shower is one of the most reliable of the annual displays of "shooting stars." Unfortunately, this year, the Orionids are going to face a handicap.

A meteor lights up the midnight sky over the northeastern China provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang in this dashcam and surveillance camera video views taken on Oct. 11, 2019.

Brilliant Midnight Fireball Lights Up Sky Over Northeast China

By Tariq Malik

What appears to be a dazzling meteor lit up the sky over northeast China on Friday (Oct. 11), appearing as a brilliant fireball in surveillance video of the event.

Don't let its humble appearance fool you; this so-called mudball meteorite holds important clues about how life began on Earth.

'Cosmic Mudball Meteorite' Smells Like Brussels Sprouts, Finds New Home at Museum

By Mindy Weisberger

A new meteorite addition to the Field Museum's collection resembles a malodorous mud brick, but it holds important clues about the origins of life on Earth.

Glowing meteor, fireball entering Earth's atmosphere.

Falling Fireballs Crashed in Chile Last Week. They Weren't Meteorites, Experts Say.

By Nicoletta Lanese

Chilean officials are investigating a curious collection of burning objects that fell onto parts of the country last week.

An artist's depiction of the early solar system. In the inset, small particles stick together to form larger particles.

Tiny Space-Rock Particles Could Hold Secrets to Early Solar System

By Meghan Bartels

Small chunks of mineral studding the interiors of space rocks could help scientists pinpoint when the solar system began to form.

The Wedderburn meteorite was first discovered in 1951.

Extraterrestrial Mineral Never Before Seen on Earth Found Inside a Famous Meteorite

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

A never-seen-before extraterrestrial mineral was lurking inside a meteorite found nearly 70 years ago.

A bright-pink Perseid meteor shines above an old shipwreck on the coast of New Jersey in this photo by Jeff Berkes. He captured this photo early Sunday morning (Aug. 11), or about two days before the peak of the meteor shower.

Perseid Meteor Shower 2019 Dazzles Skywatchers Despite a Bright Moon

By Hanneke Weitering

Viewing prospects for this year's Perseid meteor shower were not ideal, but that didn't stop the annual "shooting star" display from putting on a great show!

Amazing Photos of the Perseid Meteor Shower 2019

By Hanneke Weitering

The annual Perseid meteor shower, one of the most highly anticipated meteor showers of the year, peaked overnight on Aug. 12-13. See photos of the spectacular "shooting star" display here!

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 2019: When, Where & How to See It

By Sarah Lewin

Several Perseid meteors dash across the sky above Italy's Castel Santa Maria in this photo by astrophysicist Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project taken during the peak on Aug. 12-13, 2018.

How to Watch the 2019 Perseid Meteor Shower Live Online

By Elizabeth Howell

One of the year's brightest meteor showers is about to take flight. If you face cloudy or light-polluted skies at home, however, never fear — the Perseids will also be streamed online.

A NASA camera located near Tucson, Arizona, captured this image of a spider and a Perseid meteor on Aug. 5, 2019.

Skywatching Spider Photobombs 2019 Perseid Meteor Shower

By Meghan Bartels

How do you spot a "shooting star"? Well, you don't look for eight legs; that's for sure.