As soon as we see a shooting star, we immediately make a wish. But do stars really fall? And what would happen if this happened? Is such a phenomenon possible under zero gravity?
In fact, this is just a beautiful expression that does not reflect reality at all. In such cases, we see an optical phenomenon that is caused by meteor showers entering the atmosphere. Most often, the phenomenon can be observed in the period from August 12 to 14 annually in the northern latitudes of our country. The meteor shower is called Perseid.
Why is this happening?
Do stars really fall? No, what we see in the sky is just meteoroids, asteroids and other space objects burning in the atmosphere . Meteoroids that did not collapse when they entered the Earth’s atmosphere and reached the surface are already called meteorites. Traces of flying in the sky can be observed for several seconds or minutes.
Comets, on the other hand, circle around the Sun, leaving behind a trail of fragments, which eventually group and transform into meteor showers. When the Earth intersects with such streams, then a "starfall" appears.
What are stars?
Stars are luminous and gas balls. The closest star to the Earth is the Sun. Other space objects are far enough away, therefore, looking at the sky, we see small luminous points. If we compare the sizes of the Earth and the Sun, then our planet is more like a speck of dust in relation to the Sun, which in diameter is 696.342 thousand kilometers (the error is 65 kilometers). And the Earth in diameter is only 12 742 kilometers. Do stars really fall? It’s even hard to imagine what would happen if the Sun fell on the Earth — it would simply burn out in a matter of seconds.
Difference between cosmic bodies
Meteorites are solid bodies, it can be stone or ice, metal. As a rule, having reached the ground, these space objects are more like peas, but there are also quite large ones. Usually in the sky from the Earth they are visible.
Objects that are called asteroids, as a rule, are huge and are stones and fly to the orbits of the Earth and the Sun from the orbits of Jupiter or Mars.
Comets are blocks of ice that can contain ammonia, methane and other chemical compounds. Typically, such objects are surrounded by a "coma", that is, a cloud-like shell. When a comet approaches the orbit of the Sun, then a “tail” appears.
Why does the trace remain
Do stars fall to earth? As already understood, no. But why do cosmic objects glow brightly when falling? Everything is very simple: a space object is a meteorite, it doesn’t matter - metal or stone, and when flying through the atmosphere, it heats up to high temperature. And this is due to friction. By the way, for this reason, spaceships have a special casing so that the rocket itself and the people in it will not burn out. Those comets that are large enough may not completely burn out in the atmosphere and fly to the surface of the Earth.
The most famous cases of meteorites
Do stars fall from the sky? Not. But meteorites are falling. The most interesting cases of the fall of space objects:
- In 1908, a meteorite fell near the Podkamennaya River, which was later called the Tunguska. However, numerous expeditions failed to detect a meteorite, only magnetite and silicate balls of microscopic sizes. Although the force of the explosion was more than 50 megatons. In an area of about 2 thousand square kilometers, huge trees were uprooted.
- In 1922, in the Astrakhan province, local residents observed the fall of a huge stone, after which a meteor shower began. The remnants of space objects were found only after 50 years, 25 kilometers in diameter from the supposed meteorite impact site, it was 82 chondritic objects. The largest weighed 284 kilograms, and the smallest - 50 grams.
- In Namibia, you can see the largest space object on Earth - the Goba meteorite. It is actually a block weighing 60 tons, consisting of nickel and iron with a low content of cobalt. But only dinosaurs could see such a unique phenomenon, who probably did not think about the question of whether the stars were falling.
- In 1947, a meteor shower rained in the Primorsky Territory of the Russian Federation (in the village of Beitsuha), creating several craters on an area of about 35 square kilometers. The largest chip weighs 23 tons.
- In 1696, a meteorite weighing 5 tons fell in Mexico (Chihuahua). Today it is the most studied space object on the entire planet. By the way, it includes a mineral that is not on the planet, and they called it pangit.
And on the Moon, even from the Earth, you can see traces of meteorites falling - these are famous craters. On our planet, such funnels also exist, but they are covered with ocean waters or volcanic ash, or have weathered over millions of years.
When can I observe the fall of stars
It doesn’t matter if the stars fall to the Earth or not, but sometimes you really want to make a wish. If we talk about single space objects, then it is impossible to predict their fall. And large flows can be predicted, especially since it has already been clearly established that such phenomena occur regularly.
The most regular annual flow of cosmic bodies is Perseid. The phenomenon falls on August-month, from about 12 to 14 days. It is associated with the approach of the comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the celestial body approaches our planet only once every 135 years. However, a plume of dust from a comet is visible on Earth annually. Some particles enter the atmosphere.
Forecast for 2018
- In July, from 28 to 30, you can see a whole stream of Aquarids, which can be observed near the constellation Aquarius.
- The Arietide Starfall is one of the longest: from May 20 to July 2. However, peak activity occurs on June 7 and 8. If the question of whether the stars are tormented, you will have to get up with the rising of the Sun and observe the phenomenon for 30 minutes.
- From October 8 to 10, residents of the Northern Hemisphere will be lucky - they will be able to watch the "star rain" called the Draconids. The phenomenon can be seen at night, about 15 stars fall at an o'clock.
- One of the most beautiful phenomena is predicted for the period from October 2 to November 7. The peak falls on October 20-21. Enough large falling space objects with visible traces behind will be visible.
However, do not forget to fully enjoy the amazing phenomenon of the fall of space objects, it is better to go outside the city, where high-rise buildings will not interfere, and the sky will be completely open to the eye.