A 101 on the science and history of meteor showers

Explore an interactive solar system with 3D visualizations of meteor showers—streams of dust-like debris left behind from comets or asteroids that burn up in Earth's atmosphere.

Shooting stars, or meteors, are fragments of asteroids and comets that burn up as they enter Earth's atmosphere, creating streaks in the sky called meteor showers.

Shooting stars are streaks of light produced by meteoroids

As these rocks enter Earth's atmosphere at high speeds, friction causes them to burn up, briefly leaving streaks of light. The color of these fireballs can be used to determine the composition of the meteoroid, if it does not reach the ground and become a meteorite for analysis.

The importance of the mesosphere, the coldest part of Earth's atmosphere

Atmospheric gases are dense enough in this region to begin burning up debris traveling toward Earth's surface, producing meteor showers, or shooting stars. Although we normally associate decreasing temperatures with increasing altitude, temperatures increase beyond the mesosphere layer due to the absorption of high-energy ultraviolet radiation and X-rays.

Read about the dangerous comet behind the Perseids meteor shower

Every summer, Earth passes through the debris trail of the Swift-Tuttle comet, producing the spectacle of the Perseids meteor shower. The phenomenon is a glorious opportunity for amateur stargazers, but astronomers have long noted the comet's orbit...

Stellar photos from around the world of the 2020 Perseids

The annual Perseids meteor shower occurs in the Northern Hemisphere's summer, peaking usually around mid-August. The phenomenon is caused by the Earth's passing through a comet's debris trail of ice and dust, providing a weekslong spectacle for...

Tracking the latest meteorite falls on Earth

Roughly 50 tons of meteorite material arrives on Earth every day, and many of the larger objects survive the hot temperatures of the atmosphere and make landfall. This tracker compiles data from survey sites across the globe to present the latest...

Earth is constantly bombarded by material from space

Most of this matter is composed of small particles, with any smaller than 33 feet in diameter burning up in the atmosphere. Larger asteroids can reach the ground, and those larger than several thousand feet cause global damage, including earthquakes and tsunamis.

Stars appear to twinkle because turbulence in the motion of molecules in Earth's atmosphere causes light to bend and wiggle rapidly on its way to the surface—a phenomenon called scintillation.

You are 65,000 times more likely to be struck by lightning than to be hit by space trash

In 2023, about 1,500 pieces of space junk fell to Earth, with most consisting of payload fragmentation debris. The vast majority that falls back to Earth burns up before reaching the surface, making it three times less likely to be struck by space trash than by a meteorite.

The composition of comets earned them the nickname 'dirty snowballs'

The icy relics of the solar system are composed of rock, gravel, dust, and frozen molecules, such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, ammonia, and water. Once close to the sun, these compounds sublimate into gases, creating a fuzzy cloud that earned the comets another nickname in history: hairy stars.

Explore Earth's atmosphere and what its layers contain in this interactive adventure

In this interactive, users can move from Earth's surface up through its atmosphere, exploring the natural phenomena found in each layer, including atmospheric rivers, auroras, and meteor showers. Artificial structures such as weather balloons and the International Space Station can also be found on the adventure.

Colorful thunderstorm phenomena can be viewed from the International Space Station

Transient luminous events are lightning-related phenomena that occur in the atmosphere above storm clouds. These events often look like columns of red light resulting from electrical discharge, but may also appear as purple tendrils or long blue jets.

Scientists have tested atmospheric models by firing rockets into the aurora borealis

Functioning like components of a CT scan, the missiles transmit signals that can be used to identify charged particles and electromagnetic currents in slices. The slices are then combined to construct a computer-based model of Earth's atmospheric structure, which is used to compare the accuracy of physics-based models.

Antimatter was discovered by examining debris from collisions between atmospheric gases and cosmic rays—high-energy matter particles from space.

The science of springtime, 101

Dive into the basics on springtime including the astronomy that brings it about, natural signs of spring's arrival, and some of the cultural approaches to the season.

As seen in the dark region of the Horsehead Nebula, clouds of space dust can block some forms of light from reaching telescopes, impairing observations and data collection.

Aurora-like magenta streaks across the sky may not be auroras

The phenomenon, known as STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), has only been observed alongside auroras. Rather than light emitted by gases energized by collisions with ionized particles from the sun, STEVE is a high-velocity, high-temperature stream of particles that glows. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Visualize the impact of approximately 9,000 metric tons of satellites and space debris orbiting Earth—70% of which, including the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope, do so in low Earth orbit.

Explore a guide to observing comets

Binoculars or telescopes can be used to see vivid tails, glowing comas, and brief bursts of brightness from these celestial objects. For photography, a DSLR or mirrorless camera with a wide-aperture lens, long exposure settings, and accessories such as tripods and star trackers is recommended.

Space trash is making low Earth orbit increasingly dangerous for spacecraft

Millions of fragments from satellites, rockets, and other spacecraft that are no longer operational move thousands of meters per second as they circle Earth. Even a piece of debris a centimeter in size can cause mission-ending damage to space stations, telescopes, and astronauts.

Some cosmic rays possess energies as high as 100,000,000 teraelectron volts—more than 10 million times the energy of particles accelerated in the Large Hadron Collider.

Visualizing Earth's space garbage

An unsavory byproduct of humanity's brilliant exploration of space, the Moon, and more, is the rapid production of space debris floating around in orbit. Its estimated over 25,000 objects are in orbit, a number that grows everyday as satellites are decommissioned, rockets enter orbit, and more. Now, you can visualize what this debris looks like from a zoomed-out perspective with this brief video.

Some scientists hypothesize that stressed rocks can discharge built-up static electricity in the form of lightning—a phenomenon known as fracto-luminescence, or earthquake lights.

Spikes of light around stars are artifacts of light bending around the mirror supports

Through diffraction, electromagnetic waves can bend around obstacles, as observed in the silver linings at the edges of clouds, where light should be blocked. Within reflecting telescopes, starlight diffracts around struts—beams holding a secondary mirror in place—and spreads perpendicular to them, creating pairs of spikes.

By 2030, experts estimate a 1 in 1000 chance of a plane being hit by space debris

As more satellites and spacecraft are launched, the rate of space debris re-entering Earth's atmosphere, including those that do not burn up completely, increases. International space agencies and air traffic control systems will need to coordinate to develop standardized methods and technical solutions to prevent and minimize future crisis scenarios.

View a gallery of notable comets

The collection features 1973's Kohoutek, which had been dubbed the "comet of the century," 1965's Ikeya-Seki—one of the brightest comets of the millennium—and 2002's NEAT, a comet that survived a coronal mass ejection as it passed near the sun.

Fireworks' chemical composition and internal layout produce their unique displays

The burning of different metal compounds, facilitated by combining fuel with oxidizers, results in explosions of varying colors. The timing and pattern are engineered through the arrangement of pellets and fuses.

Research shows that cosmic rays may trigger the cascade of displaced electrons needed to produce lightning, which is also enabled by pointed ice crystals that create strong electric fields.

Our solar system is currently traveling through a 'dark matter hurricane'

The phenomenon refers to a stream of cosmic debris, including stars and dark matter, leftover from a small galaxy that passed too close to the Milky Way and was torn apart. There are over 30 such streams known in our galaxy, and the stream intersecting the solar system is predicted to continue to do so for millions of years.

Space weather phenomena, including solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and solar wind, are driven by the sun's magnetic field and can affect Earth's ground- and space-based technological systems.

Rather than being triggered by a massive displacement of water from a geological event, meteotsunamis are caused by rapid changes in air pressure from fast-moving weather systems.

Particles produced in cosmic ray showers that would normally decay long before they reach Earth's surface are observed in ground-based detectors because they experience time more slowly when moving near the speed of light—a phenomenon predicted by special relativity.

Watch a lightning storm from the International Space Station

While passing over the Alabama and Georgia regions, NASA astronauts photographed passing thunderstorms from the ISS. The illuminated clouds are described as "nebula-like formations."

Likened to a car backfiring or a faraway cannon fire, skyquakes have been reported worldwide in Earth's atmosphere without any obvious cause.

Dark comets appear to be rocky asteroids but move like comets

Cometary orbits are known to exhibit accelerations independent of gravity that result from forces related to the release of gases. Dark comets exhibit this behavior but lack visible clouds of frozen material that have turned into a gas—the coma the comets display—indicating minor quantities of escaping subsurface ice.

Only 40% of city-destroying asteroids have been detected

Statistical modeling shows that while we have identified the majority of extinction-level asteroids, smaller asteroids that can cause significant damage remain elusive. Some asteroids, like the one that exploded over Chelyabinsk in 2013, can't be detected ahead of time since they come from the sun's direction.

The ancient Greeks and Romans viewed comets and meteors as divine omens

Both considered the appearance of a comet or its fragments as a precursor to significant events, such as the birth of a notable figure or the death of a ruler. One observed in 44 BCE was believed to be a sign of the deification of Julius Caesar after his assassination.

The faint triangle of light occasionally seen above the horizon, known as zodiacal light, is due to sunlight reflecting off ice and dust scattered throughout the inner solar system.

Comets serve as time capsules of the early solar system

The frozen objects preserve the molecular composition of the solar system's formation, dating back about 4.6 billion years. Spectral analysis of the gases they release when heated upon approaching the sun in eccentric orbits reveals this composition and helps assess solar system formation models.

The basic science of rockets

How do rockets work? What is the science behind a rocket launch? How does a rocket go into space? In this short and simple video, we discuss the science of rocket propulsion and what takes to get these vehicles into orbit.

Meteorological v. astronomical seasons, explained

Meteorologists and climatologists define seasons differently from “regular” or astronomical spring, summer, fall, and winter. Traditional seasons reflect the movement of celestial objects, known as the astronomical seasons; meteorologists mark seasonal change based on temperature averages.

The ingredients that make up severe weather

A seven-minute video illustrating how a storm is made. These factors—moisture, instability, lift, and shear—are explained through a series of data sets and creative, descriptive diagrams.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

About 66 million years ago, an asteroid larger than Mount Everest struck Earth off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula and wiped out at least 75% of all species, including nearly all dinosaurs.

Watch a pyromusical display to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck”

The same principles behind fireworks also power the types of pyrotechnic displays in some live events. Here, you can see an application of the technology in a pyromusical set to rock band AC/DC’s iconic song, “Thunderstruck.”

Cosmic rays are thought to be accelerated to near the speed of light by repeatedly bouncing across shockwaves produced by high-energy cosmic events, such as supernovae.

By separating light with tools such as prisms, scientists can reveal the presence and composition of celestial matter by identifying color fingerprints unique to specific elements and molecules.

Ballistic experiments show that tardigrades are unlikely to be an alien species

Those fired from guns at speeds as high as 825 meters per second (1,845 mph) could be resuscitated after impact. Shock pressure from greater speeds tore apart the samples, suggesting they could not survive asteroid impacts if brought to Earth from outer space.

The Oort cloud, our solar system's theoretical icy shell

Recurring comets lead astronomers to believe they originate from an extremely distant, icy shell encapsulating the solar system. They call it the "Oort cloud," and this giant swarm of icy objects is as fascinating as it is is massive. Home of comets and a tremendous number of planetesimals, this NASA site introduces you to the Oort.