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The high rate of speed the meteor can travel in the vacuum of space is impeded when the meteor encounters the atmosphere, which is comprised of matter. Imagine the air resistance you feel when you put your hand out the window of a moving car going about 60 mph. Meteors can be traveling anywhere from 27,000 mph to 270,000 mph when they hit the atmosphere, generating so much energy the asteroid begins melting. Usually larger ones will break into pieces which either burn up entirely or fall to the surface.

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Q: How does the atmosphere stop or slow down meteors which get close to the Earth?
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Do meteors glow as they collide with earth's atmosphere?

Yes and No, When they are flying down toward earth the are burning in the atmosphere thus making them appear to glow.


What are space objects that burn as they enter Earth's atmosphere called?

Its called friction. When the rock enters the atmosphere it can be travelling at thousands of miles and hour. In space there is nothing to slow it down, when it comes to the Earths atmosphere there is resistance as the air tries to slow it down, this creates heat and the tempretures can reach thousands of degrees, rock melts at about 1200ºC.


Can a space shuttle land on mars?

No. A meteorite is an object that has already come through the Earth's atmosphere from space. On the way down, they are called meteors. A space shuttle, whether above or below the atmosphere, would need to avoid meteors at all costs. Since meteors are just rocks on the way from space to Earth, a shuttle therefore could not travel to them. Two kinds of space objects that spacecraft "could" travel to are comets and asteroids. But the space shuttle is not the proper kind of vehicle for such explorations.


What layer of earth atmosphere blocks meteors from hitting the earth?

All layers of the atmosphere. Depending on the angle at which a meteoroid enters the earth's atmosphere, it follows a trajectory towards the earth's surface. While doing so, aerodynamic friction heats it up and it becomes a meteor. It may fragment and burn up entirely but otherwise, it will remain a meteor all the way down to the earth's surface and, when it strikes, it will become a meteorite.


Is global warming causing meteors to come down from outer space?

No. Meteors are space rocks that collide with the Earth. They have nothing at all to do with global warming.


Is a meteor actually a meteoroid that burns up in the atmosphere?

Most meteor contain metal which burn up slower, And if a meteor is big enough, it size will be dramatically cut down, but not completely destroyed


What is an example sentence using the word air pressure?

The air pressure in the higher atmosphere is very large. It can even burn down large meteors.


How do meteors start falling?

meteors are space debris so when it happens to go through an atmosphere let's say ours gravity pull it down and since it's not used to our atmosphere it starts to burn up and flame and though it may be beautiful they are actually huge chunks of rock so don't be fooled


Why do shooting stars?

"Shooting stars" is a slang term for meteors and meteorites. They seem to shoot across the sky because when they fall into our atmosphere from outer space, they get so hot that they burn up. A meteorite is a meteor that makes it all the way down and lands on Earth.


What pulls the gas molecules in the atmosphere down to earth?

Gravity


Does air pollution effect the earth's atmosphere?

Once it reaches the atmosphere, the rain will become acid rain and fall back down to the earth


What is a shooting star and why does it glow?

A "shooting star" is a meteor or brightly glowing piece of rock, usually pebble-sized or less, that was in outer space but is moving now at high speed through the earth's atmosphere. Friction with the air makes it glow very brightly compared to the background illumination of the night sky. Most meteors that are burned up in the atmosphere. A few are large enough that a small portion actually hits the earth's surface and is then called a meteorite. Meteors occur in daylight, too, but are too dim to be noticed, in most cases, against the brightness of the sun and the daytime sky.