ABSTRACT

On a clear moonless night, brief streaks of light, popularly known as ‘shooting stars’, are occasionally seen crossing the sky. These are known as meteors and are caused by tiny particles of dust, which enter the upper reaches of the atmosphere and become incandescent and vaporise at a height of about 120 km. Normally they are few and far between, referred to as sporadic meteors, but at predictable times of the year, they can be very frequent and give what are known as meteor showers.