How Are Meteors Formed?

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asked 11 months ago

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Generally speaking, meteors are composed of debris left over when comets make their passage round the sun. Whilst they are close to the sun, the solar wind burns off rocks, dust and ice (a comet is really just a big dirty snowball) which we see as the cometary tail.

Sometimes the comet has lost so much of its mass from previous solar encounters that it just disintegrates. When the Earth, in its orbit around the sun, passes through this debris, ithe debris enters the atmosphere and usually burns up as what we term a 'shooting star' or meteor.

Most meteors are no bigger than a grain of sand but the incandescent trails they create make them seem bigger. However, if the piece of debris is sufficiently massive to survive the entry and fall to earth, it is then termed a meteorite.

Hope that helps