• Question: how do shooting stars happen?

    Asked by chloewildman to Chris, Eva, Michael, Paddy, Philip on 21 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Michael Wharmby

      Michael Wharmby answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      Really nice question! A shooting star is a bit of rock debris (like a meteorite) burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere.

      The rock gets attracted to the Earth by gravity and is travelling in the vacuum of space at very high speed. When it hits the Earth’s atmosphere, the gas in the atmosphere causes friction heating the rock up to really high temperature and the rock begins to glow. This is the shooting star.

      As it travels further speed is lost (due to the friction) and the rock falls to Earth or it all burns up in the atmosphere if it’s small (most of them are). The next meteor shower is the Perseids which is about the middle of August.

    • Photo: Chris Jordan

      Chris Jordan answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      I love shooting stars 🙂
      They are little bits of dust that hit our atmosphere FAST and burn up. It’s not really that they are travelling fast – but the earth is moving and runs into them.
      A lot of meteors come in showers (a great load turn up on a particular few days at the same time every year) This is because a lot the of dust is left by comets which orbit the sun leaving a trail of of debris behind them. When the earth ploughs through this trail you get a lot of meteors. You can get shooting stars in the daytime as well as at night, but you can’t see them because of the brightness of the Sun. You can see them using radar.

      The next big meteor shower is the Perseids which peak around 12th august this year – so if the sky is clear have a look out for them.

      ps do you know the difference between meteors and meteorites?

    • Photo: Eva Bachmair

      Eva Bachmair answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      Can I ask a follow up question to that one? Do you also have the habit of making a wish when you see a shooting star? And does anyone know who started that practice?

    • Photo: Paddy Brock

      Paddy Brock answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      I’m also a big fan of shooting stars. The night sky over the Galapagos can be very clear, and seeing a shooting star in such a quiet still place is magical. (Just one more reason for you guys to study to become field biologists!)

    • Photo: Philip Denniff

      Philip Denniff answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      You guys have done a really good job of answering this from the factual to the esoteric. Shooting stars are magical (even if you know they are only lumps of rock) so wish a way. We don’t see may shooting starts now days not because they are not there but because you need a really black night to be able to see them.

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