Shooting stars are actually just space debris moving at crazy speeds

Behind the shooting stars are tiny pieces of space debris traveling in different directions. lightning speed.

By contemplating the night sky and its constellations, you have surely already seen what you are looking for. noticed shooting stars suddenly streaking across the celestial vault. Sometimes considered as arrows shot by angels, sometimes interpreted as the tears of the gods or Still like souls in transit to the beyond, shooting stars are often seen as a sign of luck that invites you to take action. make a wish, but can also conjure up darker omens…hellip Beyond myths and customs surrounding this spectacle, discover the scientific phenomenon hidden behind these fascinating lights.

Despite their evocative name, shooting stars are extremely different from the stars that line the night sky. Their name comes solely from their appearance: that of a star which falls from the celestial vault and crosses the sky in a luminous and fleeting trajectory. It's actually about tiny debris that moves through space. the crazy speed of 160,000 kilometers per hour. This debris can have different natures since it can be fragments of asteroids or comets measuring at most the size of a grain of rice. But then how can these simple dusts cause such light trails in the night sky?

Artist's impression of an Orodean meteor (small body of the solar system) passing through the atmosphere & agrave; at full speed, thus heating the air located in the room. around him © @123RF – markoaliaksandr

As long as this dust wanders in space, it goes unnoticed from Earth. But when one of these tiny pieces of debris encounters our planet, it enters our planet. at any speed in the earth's atmosphere strongly heating the air that surrounds it. It is this phenomenon which results in a bright trail of light. both sudden and brief that can be seen from the cow's floor.

Depending on the time of year, showers of shooting stars occur when the Earth passes into the path of the Earth. #39;a comet. Our planet then encounters all the debris that the comet left behind, causing series of disasters. spinning webs that fascinate lovers of the starry sky. This phenomenon reached its peak during the Persians during the months of July and August, caused by Comet Swift Tuttle. During this period, it is possible to admire several dozen shooting stars per hour. Outside of the summer season, you can contemplate other showers of shooting stars like the Lyrids which offer a striking spectacle every year in April.