Fast Facts for Kids
Meteor Facts for Kids

Meteor Facts for Kids

  • Common: Meteor
  • Alternate Name: A Shooting Star or Falling Star
  • Description: Space Debris That Enters a Planet or Moon's Atmosphere
  • First Discovered: Ancient Humans
  • Meteor Sources: Meteoroids, Comets, and Asteroids
  • Composition: Iron, Stone or Iron and Stone
  • Size Range: One Gram to More than 200 Pounds

18 Meteor Facts For Kids

  1. A meteor is an asteroid, comet, meteoroid, or micrometeoroid that is visible while passing through the Earth’s atmosphere.
  2. A meteor is commonly called a falling star and/or shooting star.
  3. A meteor creates a glowing streak of light as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere.
  4. Meteors are usually visible in the Earth’s mesosphere at altitudes between 250,000 and 330,000 feet.
  5. Meteors becomes a meteorite if they survive travel through the Earth’s atmosphere and impact the surface.
  6. Astronomers prior to the 19th century had little interest in meteors until the spectacular 1833 Leonid Meteor Shower.
  7. American astronomer Denison Olmsted extensively investigated the 1833 Leonid Meteor Shower and discovered it had a cosmic origin.
  8. German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers accurately predicted the return of the 1833 Leonid Meteor Shower in 1833.
  9. A meteor is classified as a fireball by the IAU if it has an absolute magnitude of -3 or brighter.
  10. A meteor is classified as a bolide by the IAU if it has an absolute magnitude of -14 or brighter.
  11. A meteor is classified as a superbolide by the IAU if it has an absolute magnitude of -17 or brighter.
  12. On February 15th, 2013, a superbolide meteor, known as the Chelyabinsk meteor, occurred over Russia in the Ural region. It injured more than 1,500 and caused tens of millions of dollars in damages.
  13. A meteor shower is a celestial event where up to a 1,000 meteors per hour are visible in the night sky.
  14. A meteor storm is a celestial event where more than 1,000 meteors per hour are visible in the night sky.
  15. The most famous meteor storm was the 1966 Leonid meteor storm which saw thousands of meteors every 15 minutes.
  16. People who observed the 1966 Leonid meteor storm say it looked like it was raining meteors.
  17. The field of study for meteors, meteorites, and meteoroids is called meteoritics.
  18. A person who is a specialist in the field of meteoritics is called a meteoriticist.

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Meteor Pictures

Pictures are one of the best ways for people to learning about something. That is why we are providing you with the below images to help you with your research on meteors. Below you will find three pictures that represent meteors. These pictures should help you better understand meteors and what they look like.

Meteors Over The Earth's Atmosphere

A picture of meteors over the Earth's atmosphere.

Meteor In The Sky

A picture of meteors in the sky.

A Meteor Over The Clouds

A picture of a meteor over the clouds.

Meteor Resources

Hopefully the above meteor facts, data, stats, and pictures were helpful with your research. If you need to continue researching meteors you can use one of the below websites. We selected the below websites for their credibility and accurate data on meteors.