What Is a Meteor Shower?

You see a bright streak zip across the night sky. People call it a shooting star. But it is not a star at all! Let’s find out what it really is.

Picture-book drawing of two kids and a grown-up lying on a blanket on a grassy hill, looking up at shooting stars in a dark blue night sky
Watching a meteor shower: lie back, look up, and wait for the streaks of light.
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A shooting star is not a star!

A shooting star is not a star at all. It is a meteor.

A meteor starts as a small rock in space. The rock is called a meteoroid. The meteoroid flies into the air that wraps around Earth. That air is called the atmosphere.

The rock moves super fast. It gets very hot, and it burns up.

Wow factThe bright streak you see is not the rock. It is the air around the rock, glowing hot!

How big is the rock?

Space rocks come in many sizes. The smallest are specks of dust. The biggest are small asteroids.

Most pieces in a meteor shower are tiny — between a grain of sand and a pea. They are so small that they burn up in the sky. They never reach the ground.

So what is a meteor shower?

A comet travels through space. As it goes, it leaves a trail of dusty bits behind it, like crumbs from a cookie.

Sometimes Earth passes right through that dusty trail. Lots of tiny bits fly into our air at the same time. They burn up, one after another.

When lots of meteors show up in a short time, that is a meteor shower!

Meteor showers come back

Here is the neat part: meteor showers come back. Many of them come back every year, at about the same time of year.

That is because Earth passes through the same dusty trail again and again. So the same shower can show up on a regular schedule, like a yearly visit.

How showers get their names

Each shower is named after the star, or group of stars, close to where its meteors seem to come from in the sky. That spot is called the radiant.

The Perseids

Best in August

The Perseids seem to come from near the group of stars called Perseus — that is how they got their name. And guess what? Every single Perseid meteor is a tiny piece of a comet called Swift-Tuttle.

The Geminids

Best in December

The Geminids come in December. Their pieces come from a rocky object called 3200 Phaethon. Say it like this: FAY-uh-thon.

What if a rock makes it to the ground?

Once in a while, a space rock makes it all the way through the air and lands on the ground. A rock that lands is called a meteorite.

Good to knowNASA says: do not expect to find meteorites after a meteor shower. Shower pieces come from comets, and comet pieces are fragile. They usually do not survive the trip down.

How to watch a meteor shower

  • Go somewhere dark, away from city lights.
  • Lie flat on your back and look up at the sky.
  • Let your eyes get used to the dark. It takes about 30 minutes.
  • You do not need a telescope. Your eyes are enough.
  • Be patient. Meteors take their time.
  • Always watch with a grown-up.

Words to know

Meteoroid
A space rock while it is still out in space, before it enters Earth’s air.
Meteor
What a meteoroid becomes when it enters Earth’s air, speeds along, and burns up. It makes the bright streak people call a shooting star.
Meteorite
A space rock that makes it all the way down and lands on the ground.
Atmosphere
The air that wraps all around Earth.
Comet
An object in space that leaves a trail of dusty bits behind it as it travels.
Radiant
The spot in the sky where the meteors of a shower seem to come from.
Constellation
A group of stars in the sky, like Perseus. Showers are named for the star or constellation near their radiant.
Meteor shower
Lots of meteors in a short time. It happens when Earth passes through the dusty trail left by a comet.

Say it back!

Can you say these three things in your own words? Try it out loud:

  • A shooting star is really a meteor — a tiny space rock burning up. The streak is glowing hot air.
  • A meteor shower happens when Earth passes through the dusty trail a comet left behind.
  • The Perseids come in August, and the Geminids come in December.
Where these facts come from: NASA Science, “Meteors and Meteorites,” and NASA Space Place, NASA’s science site for kids. Read more at NASA Science: Meteors and Meteorites and NASA Space Place: Asteroid or Meteor?

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