Planets and Visitors · 7 of 12
Shooting Stars Aren’t Stars
What is a shooting star, if it is not a star?
Every star is still there after the streak: a meteor is the light of a grain of comet or asteroid dust burning up 80–120 km overhead — Halley's, on the Orionids' peak — and a few strays fall on any dark night.
You’ll be able to tell a meteor from a star, say what burns up in one and how high, and name the comet behind a shower.
Before this: Meteor Showers (6 min)
Where and which night
Working out when this is best placed from where you are…
Where
Kept for this guide only, until you change it here — your map settings, and every other guide, stay as they are.
Print, play outside or present
Scan with a phone's camera, or open
Sources
- American Meteor Society, Meteor FAQ — a meteor is the streak a meteoroid makes; grains from sand to a small pebble; 80–120 km up; 11–72 km/s; a meteorite reaches the ground; "no actual star is involved"
- American Meteor Society, Meteor FAQ — the height of visible meteors
- American Meteor Society, Meteor FAQ — a meteorite is material that survives the passage through the atmosphere
- International Meteor Organization — Meteor Shower Calendar: the Orionids' and Eta Aquariids' peaks, radiants, speeds and parent, Comet Halley
- Rendtel & Arlt (eds.), IMO Handbook for Visual Meteor Observers (2008) — around ten sporadic meteors an hour on an average dark night
- Hipparcos distances, as carried in the star catalogue the tags read
With a keyboard, focus the sky, aim it with the up and down arrow keys, and press Enter to drop the pin at the centre of the view; or press Show me.