Have you ever looked up at the night sky and seen a shooting star? It’s a magical sight! But have you ever wondered if a shooting star has ever landed on someone? Let’s explore this exciting topic together!
When you see a shooting star, it looks like a bright streak of light zipping across the sky. But guess what? It’s not a star at all! It’s actually a rock from space called a meteor. These space rocks travel through the sky and sometimes fall to Earth.
Our solar system is full of planets, but there are also lots of rocks floating around. Many of these rocks are found in a place called the asteroid belt, which is between the planets Mars and Jupiter. Sometimes, these rocks get close to Earth and are pulled in by our planet’s gravity.
As meteors fall toward Earth, they rub against the air in our atmosphere. This makes them heat up and glow brightly, which is why we see them as shooting stars. Isn’t that cool?
Meteors come in all sizes. Some are huge, like the one that made a big crater in Arizona. But most meteors are tiny, no bigger than a grain of sand. These small meteors are the ones we see most often in the night sky.
It’s very rare for a meteor to hit a person. Most meteors are so small that even if they did hit someone, the person might not even feel it. But there have been a few surprising stories!
In 1992, a meteor crashed into a parked car in Peekskill, New York. Luckily, no one was inside the car. The owner sold the meteor for over $50,000!
Even more amazing, in 1954, a woman named Elizabeth Ann Hodges was napping on her couch when a meteor the size of a grapefruit crashed through her roof and landed on her hip. She got a bruise but was okay. She’s believed to be the first person ever hit by a meteor!
Isn’t it fascinating to learn about meteors and shooting stars? There are so many mysteries in our world and beyond. Keep asking questions and stay curious!
Create Your Own Meteor: Gather some playdough or clay and create your own model of a meteor. Think about the different sizes and shapes that meteors can have. Once you’ve made your meteor, try dropping it from a small height onto a soft surface like a pillow. Observe what happens and imagine how it would be if it were a real meteor falling to Earth. Discuss with a friend or family member how the size and speed of a meteor might affect what happens when it lands.
Night Sky Observation: On a clear night, go outside with an adult and look up at the sky. Try to spot a shooting star! If you see one, make a note of the time and direction you saw it. If you don’t see one, that’s okay too! Talk about why shooting stars are more visible at certain times of the year and what makes them appear in the sky.
Meteor Stories Exploration: Imagine you are a reporter who just heard about a meteor landing in your neighborhood. Write a short story or draw a comic strip about what happened. Include details like where the meteor landed, who saw it, and what people did afterward. Share your story with your class or family and discuss how rare and exciting such an event would be.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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(cell phone ringing) – Hi Doug.
– Hi Mariana. – I have a question for you. Has a shooting star ever landed on someone?
– That is a great question. You’ve seen water fall from the sky. Maybe you’ve seen snow or hail, which is when round bits of ice fall from the sky. But on June 28, 1911, if you were living in the small town of Abu Hummus, Egypt, you saw something that looked like this falling from the sky. (meteor rumbling) As it was falling, people heard what sounded like an explosion. Dogs started barking (dogs barking). The townspeople went out to see what it was. There on the ground outside of town was a rock that had come from outer space. But what is a rock doing up in space in the first place, and why did it suddenly fall to Earth? Before I say anything more, now would be a good time to pause the video and discuss.
Okay, you ready? Well, if you go outside on a dark night, chances are you might spot one of these. Did you see that? Look again, right there. See that? This is what people are talking about when they mention a shooting star, but what is it? What’s happening when you see one of these? That was a question that had been one of the great mysteries of all time. For a long time, nobody knew. It wasn’t until that one summer day in Egypt, the day a rock fell from the sky and landed on the ground, that we finally started to realize just what a shooting star is.
A shooting star isn’t a star at all. It’s a rock from space, or as scientists call it, a meteor. You may have heard that word before, like in the idea that a huge meteor might have contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs long ago. A meteor that we think might have been one of the biggest to ever hit the Earth, one as big as an entire city, or places like Meteor Crater in Arizona, where scientists believe a meteor about half the size of a football field once slammed into the Earth.
But why are we constantly getting hit by rocks from space? What are these rocks even doing up there? Well, as we’ve learned more about our solar system, we’ve realized that it’s not just the eight planets and the sun. There are also a lot of rocks that float around between the planets. Many of them are located between Mars and Jupiter, in what we call the asteroid belt, but some are floating around in the pathway of the Earth too. When these rocks get too close to the Earth, they get pulled toward us.
As anything falls toward the Earth from space, it rubs against the air in the Earth’s atmosphere, which heats it up so hot that it glows. This is why a meteor or shooting star is bright and gives off light as it streaks across the sky. Meteors come in all different sizes. There are definitely huge meteors out there, like the kind that caused the crater in Arizona. Meteors of this size are incredibly rare, though. One like this might not hit Earth for thousands of years.
On the other end are meteors that can be seen on any given night. These meteors are the most common, hitting Earth every day and night. From dark skies, you can notice as many as two or three per hour, but they are also the smallest meteors. Even though these meteors give off enough light to be seen in the nighttime sky, scientists have discovered that most of them are no bigger than a grain of sand. Isn’t that incredible?
But could a meteor ever land on a person? Given how small these everyday meteors are, it probably won’t surprise you to hear that even if one of these did hit a person, that person might not even feel it. But what about one a little bigger, like the size of the meteor that landed in Egypt? Even meteors this size are still incredibly rare, and keep in mind the Earth is such a big place that most meteors that do fall to Earth land in the ocean or in remote areas where nobody notices them.
On the evening of October 9th, 1992, a bright meteor was seen by people all over the eastern part of the United States. When it landed, it crashed into a parked car in Peekskill, New York. Luckily, no one was inside the car, and even better news, lots of people wanted to own a piece of this rock that had come from space. The owner of the car was able to sell the meteor for over $50,000!
If you like that story, I’ve got something even more amazing. On the afternoon of November 30th, 1954, a woman named Elizabeth Ann Hodges was taking a nap on her couch. Suddenly, a meteor the size of a grapefruit came crashing through her roof and landed right on her hip. It gave her a nasty bruise, but she recovered and is believed to be the first person in history to be hit by an object from outer space.
That’s all for this week’s question. Thanks, Mariana, for asking it. Now for the next episode, I reached into my question jar and picked out three questions sent in to me that I’m thinking about answering next. When this video is done playing, you’ll get to vote on one. You can choose from: what’s the difference between a praying mantis and a grasshopper? Why do fingernails grow? Or who invented the alphabet? So submit your vote when the video’s over. I want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious, and see you next week.
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