A meteor is a small rocky or metallic body that travels through space. Most meteors are no bigger than a grain of sand, and they are often called “shooting stars” or “falling stars.” When a meteor enters Earth’s atmosphere, it heats up and burns up, creating a streak of light in the sky.
Meteors can be dangerous. If one hits Earth, it can cause damage or even explode. But most meteors are so small that they burn up before they reach the ground.
Most meteors come from comets. Comets are icy bodies that orbit the sun. As a comet comes close to the sun, its ice melts and releases gas and dust into space. This debris forms a tail that points away from the sun. When Earth passes through this tail, we see a meteor shower.
Meteor showers happen when Earth passes through the debris field of a comet. The debris falls into our atmosphere and burns up, creating streaks of light in the sky. Meteor showers are usually named after the constellation where they appear to originate from (for example, the Leonid meteor shower appears to originate from Leo).
The best time to see a meteor shower is usually at night, when it is dark outside and there are no other lights to interfere with your view of the sky. Meteor showers can be very active, with dozens or even hundreds of meteors visible per hour