What is the mystery of “falling stars”?

Falling stars have been a source of curiosity for men for thousand of years. But today with the advancement in science we do not call them stars. They are called “meteors”.

They are small and solid bodies, traveling through space which may come into contact with earth’s atmosphere. When they enter our atmosphere, they leave a fiery trail of light. This happens because of friction between the solid mass of the meteors and the earth’s atmosphere.

Our earth receives only bigger parts of meteors. According to scientists, thousands of such meteors fall on earth every day and night but since a large part of the earth is covered with oceans, rivers, lakes, they usually fell into the water.

Astronomers believe that meteors are fragments of comets. These swarms of broken parts of comets move in regular orbits through space. One such swarm crosses the earth’s path every 33 years.