There are, sadly, not many places on earth where you can still look up and see the stars in the sky. But if you’re fortunate enough to travel to one of these places, you may be even more fortunate to see a shooting star—or perhaps a meteor shower.
Shooting stars have long been romanticized in a variety of stories and cultures. They are given significance, and many who see them make wishes on them. But what were they, actually? And what exactly is a meteor shower?
Shooting stars are actually meteors. A meteor is a large chunk of rock or garbage that is falling toward the earth. As it falls through our atmosphere, the resistance or drag on the object causes it to become extremely hot and burn up. The bright streak is the glowing from the rock heating up during its fall.
These space rocks are generally debris from a comet. As a comet gets close to the sun, it will heat up and vaporize. This leaves little pieces of rock behind that had been frozen in the comet. There are generally at least a few small meteors per night, but when the earth encounters a large number of meteors, it is referred to as a meteor shower. These are generally predictable because comets orbit the sun as well. Each year as the earth passes through the orbit of the comet, it will encounter all of the debris and create a meteor shower. There are several separate meteor showers on earth each year.
Each meteor shower will happen for multiple days, but the night in which the most meteors will be visible is now predicted quite accurately.
The best way to watch a meteor shower is to go out at night once it is fully dark. It’s best to get out of the city and away from any source of light pollution. This can mean finding lakeside beaches or parks that are free of large fluorescent lights. It can also mean doing a quick, easy hike to get out away from towns and lights. Bring warm clothes, a blanket to lie on, and some hot tea. Don’t forget a flashlight if you plan to hike at night.