If not in real life, I’m sure everyone has seen shooting stars at least in movies. They are spectacular streaks of light that seem to arise from almost nowhere, travel across a part of the sky for a second or at most a few and then, just disappear. To an absolute beginner, the name “shooting star” might draw to mind an unfortunately wrong picture. The name is most definitely misleading.
Shooting stars or meteors as they are scientifically referred to, are tiny bits and pieces of debris that have been floating around since the formation of the solar system. These happen to be on a path that intersects with the Earth and when that happens they enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn brilliantly. When floating in space they are referred to as meteoroids, when they enter the Earth’s atmosphere they are called meteors and if they impact the ground then they are called meteorites. Their origin can sometimes be traced to a comet leaving a trail of dust along the path it has taken around the Sun or to an asteroid. Both these objects formed early in the solar system and hence meteorites are studied to find more answers about the early conditions of our solar system.
Millions of meteors enter the Earth’s atmosphere every day. Most of the meteors are the size of a tiny pebble. Some of the larger ones reach the Earth’s surface – the meteorites. These meteorites are classified in three categories depending on their composition. These categories are stony, iron and iron-stony. Stony meteorites are silicon dominated with little or no iron. The iron meteorites mostly contain iron and nickel while the iron-stony have an equal composition of silicon and iron. The difference arises from the different origins of these meteorites.
On any clear dark night you should be able to see about 5-10 meteors every hour. They look like stars falling from the sky and hence the common name. They leave a trail behind as the burn in the Earth’s atmosphere. They are a beautiful site for everyone and I would highly recommend that you try and spot a few on your next overnight outing. Needless to say they do not have the power or the luxury to grant you your wish, should you make one on seeing them.
Nikhil Pawar
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Posted on April 18, 2009
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