The 1833 Leonid Meteor storm, as seen over Niagara Falls. Credit: Edmund Weiß (1888)
As Earth orbits the Sun, it plows through dust and debris left behind by comets and asteroids. That debris gives birth to meteor showers – which can be one of nature’s most spectacular displays.
Most meteor showers are predictable, recurring each year when the Earth traverses a particular trail of debris.
On occasion, however, Earth runs through a particularly narrow, dense clump of debris. This results in a meteor storm, sending thousands of shooting stars streaking across the sky each hour.
Source: SciTechDaily
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