A meteor is more commonly called a shooting star.What does a meteor look like?
A very brief streak of light in the night sky, usually lasting 0.2 - 0.8 second.
What causes a meteor?
A meteor is caused when a particle of dust, usually from a comet, enters the Earth's atmosphere at between 12 and 72 km/s and "burns up" producing a flash of light.
How high are they?
Usually above 90 km altitude.
Do they ever hit the
ground?
No, never. More substantial pieces of cosmic debris do enter the atmosphere and land at which point the are called meteorites, but they are invariably preceeded by a brilliant fireball, much brighter than a meteor.
I am sure I saw a
meteor just above my head. Is that right?
No, it is an optical illusion due to the fact that there is nothing in the night sky with which to make comparisons for distance.
When is the best time
to observe meteors?
On a "normal" night, about 6am Local Time, though in very dark skies you should see up to a dozen meteors an hour on most nights.At certain times of the year the Earth encounters dense swarms of comet dust and we are treated to a meteor shower when the number of meteors on show often increases quite considerably. Details are given on the Meteor Shower Page.
Can you tell me where
I should look?
No. Like the Sun and Moon, meteor showers move across the sky. Where they appear depends on your location and time when you plan to observe. You will just have to learn the constellations! An excellent little book is The Times' Night Sky, published annually, or magazines like Astronomy contain start charts.
What sort of telescope
do I need?
You don't. You need to see as much of the sky as possible and the best optical devices for that are your unaided eyes. Having said that, binoculars are handy for looking at those rare meteors that take several seconds to fade.