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A meteoroid shown entering the atmosphere, causing a visible meteor and hitting the Earth's surface, becoming a meteorite. A meteoroid ( / ˈmiːtiərɔɪd / MEE-tee-ə-royd) [1] is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space . Meteoroids are distinguished as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects ...
Meteor shower. A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories.
Meteorite. The 60- tonne, 2.7 m-long (8.9 ft) Hoba meteorite in Namibia is the largest known intact meteorite. [ 1] A meteorite is a rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with the ...
Lyrids. The April Lyrids are a meteor shower lasting from about April 15 to April 29 each year. The radiant of the meteor shower is located near the constellations Lyra and Hercules, near the bright star Vega. The peak of the shower is typically around April 22–23 each year. The source of the meteor shower are particles of dust shed by the ...
Leonids. The Leonids ( / ˈliːənɪdz / LEE-ə-nidz) are a prolific annual meteor shower associated with the comet Tempel–Tuttle, and are also known for their spectacular meteor storms that occur about every 33 years. [ 5] The Leonids get their name from the location of their radiant in the constellation Leo: the meteors appear to radiate ...
The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift–Tuttle that are usually visible from mid-July to late-August.The meteors are called the Perseids because they appear from the general direction of the constellation Perseus and in more modern times have a radiant bordering on Cassiopeia and Camelopardalis.
The Taurids are an annual meteor shower, associated with the comet Encke. The Taurids are actually two separate showers, with a Southern and a Northern component. The Southern Taurids originated from Comet Encke, while the Northern Taurids originated from the asteroid 2004 TG 10, possibly a large fragment of Encke due to its similar orbital ...
The Orionids meteor shower, often shortened to the Orionids, is one of two meteor showers associated with Halley's Comet. The Orionids are so-called because the point they appear to come from, called the radiant, lies in the constellation Orion, but they can be seen over a large area of the sky. The Orionids are an annual meteor shower which ...