Meteors

A meteor is a solid body that enters a planet's atmosphere from space. Brilliant meteors, consists of a radiant head and then it is followed by a tail of light, like a comet. Other meteors, called bolides, have been seen to explode. When bolides explode, they sound like thunder. Fainter meteors, called shooting stars, occur occasionally. At some times, hundreds of meteors can occur at once. These swarms are called meteor showers. Some appear annually on the same days of the year. They are called periodic showers. Others occur at different times each year. A meteor that reaches the surface of the earth or another planet is called a meteorite. A meteoroid is a solid body orbiting the sun. It will become a meteor if it enters earth's atmosphere. The majority of meteoroids are the size of grains of dust, but they can be larger without any limit.