Meteors

The Super Hunter's Moon of October 2024 rises over a headland near Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.

See the Full Beaver Moon on Friday, the Last Dazzling Supermoon of 2024

November's spectacle closes out a series of four big and bright full moons that have captivated sky watchers since late summer

The Leonids sometimes produce fireballs, or unusually bright streaks of light that linger in the night sky. 

How to See the Stunning Leonid Meteor Shower This Weekend

Though the nearly full moon will likely outshine some of these speedy meteors, you may still be able to catch a glimpse of bright fireballs and low Earth-grazers

Screenshot from a video of the fireball reported to the American Meteor Society.

Watch a Starlink Satellite Plummet Through the Atmosphere in Videos Captured Last Weekend

The fireball—one of many decommissioned satellites from SpaceX's internet service—was spotted by dozens of people across at least four states, and many mistook it for a meteor

A depiction of the 1833 Leonids, based on a first-person account of the 1833 storm by a minister, Joseph Harvey Waggoner, on his way from Florida to New Orleans.

Americans Fell in Love With Science When the Breathtaking Leonid Meteor Shower Lit Up the Skies Across the Nation

In 1833, hundreds of thousands of shooting stars inspired songs, prophecies and a crowdsourced research paper on the origins of meteors

A rock layer showing the S2 impact tsunami bed with chunks of ripped-up seafloor

A Giant Meteorite Ripped Up the Seafloor and Boiled Earth's Oceans 3.26 Billion Years Ago. Then, Life Blossomed in Its Wake

Geologists suggest the catastrophic impact of "S2" delivered key nutrients to the oceans, prompting microorganisms to thrive

The Perseid meteor shower over Inner Mongolia, China, on August 14, 2023. When a meteor falls to the ground, it's called a meteorite.

Astronomers Uncover the Origin of Most of Earth's Meteorites, Shedding Light on Our Solar System's Past

Prior to the new research, scientists had traced the source of just 6 percent of the known meteorites that fell on our planet

The Orionids will be visible from both hemispheres, but they may be somewhat obscured by light from the moon.

How to Watch the Bright and Speedy Orionid Meteor Shower

While the Orionids, peaking early Sunday and Monday, might be hard to see because of the waning gibbous moon, these zippy meteors can produce long "trains" that last up to several minutes

A Draconid meteor streaks across the sky as the northern lights glow, as seen from north of Stockholm on October 8, 2011.

How to Catch a Glimpse of the Draconid Meteor Shower

While the annual shower usually makes for a sleepy showing, it has been known to produce fantastic outbursts in the past

An illustration of Earth with a ring.

Did Earth Once Have a Ring Like Saturn? Geologists Find Evidence for a Halo of Orbiting Space Rocks 466 Million Years Ago

A ring could explain a mysterious arrangement of impact craters near the equator and might even have caused an ice age, according to a new study

Catalina Sky Survey's images identifying Asteroid 2024 RW1.

An Asteroid Hit Earth's Atmosphere Today—Here's Why Astronomers Say That's a Good Thing

Asteroid 2024 RW1 was discovered early this morning, marking the ninth time in history that humans have detected an approaching space rock before its impact

The Perseids occur when Earth passes through the debris field of the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.

How to Watch the Perseids, the 'Best Meteor Shower of the Year'

The annual celestial event is one of the year's most anticipated, and it will peak from August 11 to 12

Meteors fly above Sydney, Australia, on July 28, 2022. The Southern Delta Aquariids will be easiest to see from the Southern Hemisphere, but will still be visible at southern latitudes in the United States.

How to Watch the Southern Delta Aquariids Meteor Shower

Though not as prolific as the Perseids, this annual spectacle is 'scientifically interesting' because its comet of origin remains a mystery

Val Castor, a veteran storm chaser for KWTV in Oklahoma City, saw the huge chunk of ice in a ditch on the side of the road.

Pineapple-Sized Hail Stone Falls in Texas—and It Might Set a New State Record

Veteran storm chaser Val Castor spotted the behemoth ice chunk in a ditch near Vigo Park in the Texas panhandle

The Milky Way is visible at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in western Colorado.

These National Parks Are Hosting Astronomy Festivals in 2024

Get outside, ditch the light pollution and marvel at the cosmos on these protected public lands

A bright green fireball is captured on camera over Cáceres, Spain, by the European Space Agancy. Officials say the object was a comet and likely broke up over the Atlantic Ocean.

Watch a Blue-Green Comet Illuminate Skies Over Spain and Portugal

The colorful fireball mesmerized onlookers—and its unexpected appearance surprised astronomers who are hoping to better predict when space rocks enter Earth's atmosphere

The Eta Aquarids appear to originate from a bright star in the constellation Aquarius.

How to Watch the Dazzling Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower, Bringing an Unusual 'Outburst' to Skies This Weekend

This year's spectacle will be more impressive than usual, as the Earth passes through a concentrated clump of 3,000-year-old comet debris

Antarctic meteorite (HUT 18036) is found partially submerged in ice, as opposed to resting atop the surface. 

Meteorites Are Becoming Harder to Find as They Sink Into Antarctica's Melting Ice

The disappearing space rocks are burying valuable clues into the history and composition of our solar system, according to a new study

The Lyrids are slated to peak on April 21-22, though the moon will be nearly full, which could make the meteors more difficult to see.

How to Watch the Brilliant Lyrid Meteor Shower This Month

Fiery streaks will illuminate the night sky from April 15-29, with the spectacle's peak occurring from April 21-22

The Treasure of Villena was discovered in Spain's Iberian Peninsula in 1963.

These 3,000-Year-Old Treasures Were Forged From Meteoritic Iron

New research reveals that two Bronze Age artifacts from the Treasure of Villena contain iron from a meteor that hit a million years ago

Researchers pose with a fragment of asteroid 2024 BX1 they found in Germany. The rock is a very rare type of meteorite called an aubrite.

A 'Very Rare' Kind of Space Rock Fell in Germany—and Scientists Recovered the Pieces

Analyses revealed the asteroid was an “aubrite,” a classification that applies to only 80 of 70,000 previously found meteorite fragments

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