The Truth Behind Meteor Showers | When and Where to See Them

There are 2 words people tend to confuse with each other: meteors and meteoroids. Meteors are essentially streaks of light made by burning debris from comets. To put it more romantically, meteors are “shooting stars”! Meteoroids are space rocks before they enter the earth’s atmosphere and lose the –oid part of their name.
These things are fragments of comets. Just like Earth and other planets, comets move around the Sun. And when they come near it, the Sun boils away some of their icy surfaces, and dust and rock break away. And – meteoroids are born. There’s plenty of this stuff floating out in space and circling the Sun. But occasionally, our planet comes across a trail of debris when our orbits cross paths...
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TIMESTAMPS:
What is the difference between meteors and meteoroids? 0:25
Where do these rocks come from? ☄️1:04
Why most of them burn up harmlessly 2:16
Meteor showers 3:50
Where the wishing tradition came from ⭐️ 4:26
The most famous meteor shower 5:50
The longest meteor shower 6:32
Where’s the best place to go and see one? 7:31
#meteors #stars #brightside
SUMMARY:
- When the debris hits our planet’s atmosphere, it’s going about 30,000 mph! And you know what high speeds usually mean? More friction, which produces heat. Therefore, most of them burn up harmlessly since temperatures reach 3,000°F as they’re falling toward the surface!
- As for most meteors, you can see them from about 60 miles. It might feel like that’s too close for comfort, but the atmospheric layer is 5 times thicker than that.
- The more meteoroids the Earth bumps into, the longer the spectacle will last. Most of them are small, so they burn up and never make it to the surface.
- Meteor showers normally last a few weeks. They’re named after the nearest constellations or bright stars they appear next to with an “id” or “ids” ending.
- You always have higher chances of witnessing a meteor show if you check the dates of upcoming showers. Some of them happen at around the same time every year, so astronomers and enthusiasts look forward to these dates.
- Probably the most famous meteor shower, the Perseids, normally starts in mid-July and lasts until August 14. It peaks on its final five days.
- The longest meteor shower in history was recorded in November 1833. It happened just east of the Rocky Mountains. The Earth was sprayed with 240,000 shooting stars of different sizes for 9 hours straight!
- If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, that increases your chances of getting a better view. The best time of day is right before dawn.
- You can just lie down in your backyard, but it might not be the best idea unless you live in the countryside.
- Unlike what you see in well-edited professional videos, there’s no guarantee you’ll see tons of shooting stars one after another.
- Don’t overstrain your eyes and nerves staring at the sky for too long. Make sure to take a break every 30 minutes or so.
Music by Epidemic Sound
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