Student Research Pages - Meteors
What we call "shooting" or "falling" stars have the official name "meteors" (me-tee-ors).
Meteors get made when tiny pieces of dust from outer space whirl into our atmosphere at super speeds.
When lots of meteors shoot through the sky around the same time we have "meteor showers."
Watch for these two special meteor showers in our Texas skies each year:
Viewed in August:
Perseid Meteor Shower
Viewed in November:
Leonid Meteor Shower
A "meteorite" (meet-ee-or-ite) is a piece of rock from space that survives its journey through our atmosphere. Meteorites look a lot like regular rocks, but they are usually heavier. Why? Because they tend to have a lot of metal in them, especially iron. Check out this meteorite:
(Used by permission of The University of Texas McDonald Observatory.)