Dust, ice, and gas are left around the orbits of comets.  The Earth comes close to some of these 

orbits very often.  When this happens, some dust and ice hits the Earth’s atmosphere.  The ice melts away, and the dust and bits of gravel hit the atmosphere so fast that they glow from the friction.  These glowing objects are called meteors, or shooting stars.

Every November 27, Earth comes close to the orbit of Biela’s Comet, and there is a meteor shower.  A meteor shower is when more than one meteor can be seen in the sky.  The largest meteor shower ever recorded was on November 12, 1833.  There were so many meteors that people thought that the stars were falling!

What Are Meteorites?

Meteorites are large pieces of matter that fly into our atmosphere.  But they are so big that they don’t burn up!  Usually things burn into pieces because of all the friction taking place.  These are so big that they just become hotter, brighter, and eventually turn into a fireball!  The outside of the fireball melts and chips away.  Before they can fully melt, they hit the ground.  What is left of it is called a meteorite.

Damage

Meteorites can cause of a lot of damage.  In 1908 a meteorite smashed into northern Siberia, in Russia.  It killed over 1,500 reindeer and knocked a man out cold that was 50 miles away!  Those kinds are very rare, though.

In Arizona a meteorite hit about 10,000 years ago.  It left a crater about ¾ of a mile wide!  Some larger ones have hit in the past.  Water and wind have covered most of their craters, though.  Meteorites also hit the moon.  Some craters on the moon are over 100 miles wide!  In fact, more items have hit the moon than Earth because the moon has a much thinner atmosphere.

“Meteors.” Encarta Encyclopedia, 1996.

Space: Everything You Need to Know and Beyond.  </J0112388> Last visited: February, 2002.

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