Many of us have seen a bright flash streak across the night sky. Often they are mistakenly called  "shooting stars" or "falling stars." But they are not stars at all, but meteors, the debris of the solar system.

       A meteor is a rocky body, heated to incandescence in its passage through Earth's upper atmosphere. Meteors heat up the same way the space shuttle or other spacecraft do when they re-enter the Earth. The meteors attain reentry speeds of 20 or 30 kilometers per second, and get hot enough to vaporize the surface layers. This trail of evaporating gas emits light, making the fiery streak  that we see.

      The Earth may be hit by tons of meteors every day, about 100 million pieces ranging in size from dust particles to small rocks. Of these, only about 500 make it through the atmosphere each year, and of these, only about 10 are recovered since most hit the oceans.

     Most meteors are tiny grains of material, rarely larger than a marble, and burn up completely in the atmosphere. Most are too faint even to be seen. At certain times of the year, we have what is called meteor showers, where 20 to 60 or more meteors may be seen per hour. The best known meteor shower is the Perseid shower, and it peaks August eleventh. Meteor showers are associated with the orbits of comets which cross the Earth's orbit.  When the Earth passes through this spot in it's orbit on its way around the Sun, some of the debris falls  towards the Earth, and we have a meteor shower.

      Meteorites are very difficult to find, most of them look like ordinary Earth rocks. Most are recovered in the Antarctic where they are easier to spot on the permanently snow covered ground. Chances of us actually finding one around here are extremely rare.

      What will be easy for all of us to see, if clear skies are in our favor, will be the Perseid meteor shower. The moon will be in the sky to compete with light, and this will prevent us from seeing some of the meteors, but you should still see a worthwhile show.

      To view the Perseids, go out after dark, a few nights before and after August 11th.  Preferably use a lounge chair since you will be looking up, and will want to be comfortable. Take a blanket with you as evenings can be quite chilly.

     The area of sky you will want to look at is high in the northeast skies. If you just relax and let your eyes wander in that area, you will stand the best chance for seeing the most meteors. Relaxing your eyes will allow them to pick up motion quicker than if you stare in a particular place. The Perseids peak at about sixty meteors per hour. You may even see some break up and become two streaks.

      Ideal conditions are away from city lights, but brighter meteors can still be seen even in neighborhood areas. The best time to view the most meteors is after midnight. At this time, the Earth is turned into the oncoming meteors.