The starry sky is the subject of the sigh of lovers and the object of observation of scientists. The former admire the mysterious dusk permeated with beads of luminous bodies, the latter plunge into complex calculations, which are later stored in the box of scientific knowledge. A shooting star causes even greater delight and promises the fulfillment of cherished desires. However, it is worth understanding the terminology so as not to be considered romantic ignoramus.
In fact, a shooting star is not a star at all. Just imagine what could happen to our planet if the Sun fell on it! A star is an accumulation of hot gas, the size of which is huge. It seems small only due to the large distance from the Earth. Even the Sun is a medium-sized star, however, it is also millions of times larger than our planet. Bright flashes that occur when a
celestial body enters our atmosphere have a different nature.
In outer space there is a huge number of various bodies: from dust to stars. Chipped pieces of comets or asteroids, the sizes of which often do not exceed a small pebble, are meteor bodies. They move in space unhindered due to the lack of friction until they collide with an object. In this case, with the planet Earth. And only then they begin to be called "meteors" and "meteorites". These two concepts should be distinguished.
A meteor is a
light phenomenon that occurs as a result of friction of a meteoroid against the atmosphere. Thus, the shooting star, which we determine by the bright luminous tail, is a meteor. Its size can reach the size of a decent boulder and even more. However, in most cases, a meteor is no larger than a grain of sand or a pebble.
Thousands of meteors invade the Earth’s atmosphere during the day. Their average speed ranges from 35-70 km per second. At such a huge speed, the meteor collides with air resistance, its temperature is rapidly increasing. The body literally boils, turning into a hot gas, which is scattered in the air. And earthlings at this time joyfully smile and are in a hurry to make a wish. Well, if a shooting star, that is, a meteor, is small in size and completely burns out in the atmosphere. Heavenly stones are very large and reach the surface of the earth. Such a body is already called a meteorite.
Of the last significant falls, we can recall the event that occurred in 1920 in Africa. Then the
Goba meteorite landed on the territory of the mainland
, whose weight was about 60 tons. Large space messengers visited us later. It is enough to recall the incident
in Chelyabinsk. A meteorite in the United States, which fell in Arizona more than 50 thousand years ago, left behind a huge crater, whose diameter exceeds 1200 meters. It is assumed that the weight of the
cosmic body was 300 thousand tons, and the explosion from its fall was similar to the explosion of 8 thousand bombs, similar to those that were dropped on Hiroshima.
Of course, a shooting star is beautiful. However, in this case, beauty can be really scary and destructive.