As a meteoroid encounters the Earth's atmosphere frictional heating begins at an altitude of 100 to 120 km. What happens next depends on the speed, mass, and friability (tendency to break up) of the meteoroid.
I looked up at the night sky and saw a bright meteor streaking across, leaving a trail of light behind.
The meteor came plummeting towards the earth.
A meteor shower happens when the Earth passes through a debris field of a comet's orbit or other similar celestial debris that may or may not have a regular cycle of occurrence. The term meteor shower refers to an unusual number of meteors visible per minute in the night sky as shooting stars. When you see a shooting star, you are actually seeing a meteor burn up in the outer reaches of our atmosphere. If you see 3 or more shooting stars (meteors burning up) per minute in the night sky, you are in a meteor shower. Most the time it is difficult to tell if you are in a meteor shower because of the low count per hour versus the count per minute. You can got to the web site for the American Meteor Society for listing and dates of various meteor showers.
The radiant, the point they appear to come from is in the constellation Leo, hence the name Leonids. It will be rising from the horizon as the night goes on. However, meteors can come from anywhere and as meteors fly across the sky, just look up and keep scanning the sky and you will get a chance to see some wherever you look.
You can see shooting stars during meteor showers, which occur when the Earth passes through the debris left by a comet. The best time to see shooting stars is late at night when the sky is darkest and free from city lights.
showers
I looked up at the night sky and saw a bright meteor streaking across, leaving a trail of light behind.
meteor
A Meteor
A meteor is often called a 'shooting star' or 'falling star', after its appearance as a momentary streak of light in the night sky.
Meteors hit the Earth's atmosphere and burn up in a second or two. They streak across the night sky and are gone. Comets are farther away, and move only slowly, night by night, across the sky.
Look at the beautiful night sky at 8:00 pm - about 3:00 am.
Meteors (sometimes), and comets. If it moves quickly, it is a meteor. If it seems to be static in the sky, it is a comet.
The point from which meteors appear to originate in the night sky is called the radiant. This point marks the direction in the sky from which the meteors appear to be coming during a meteor shower.
The meteor came plummeting towards the earth.
she really saw a meteor
A display of frequent meteor sightings is known as a meteor shower. This occurs when the Earth passes through a trail of debris left behind by a comet, resulting in an increased frequency of meteors visible in the night sky.