December night skies: what exactly is a meteor shower?

AFP

Perseids meteors cross the night sky over an Orthodox church in the village of Bezdezh, some 270 km southwest of Minsk, on August 12, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Sergei GAPON

Daniel Esparza - published on 10/27/17

Imagine cosmic debris, some of it even smaller than a grain of sand, traveling through space at extremely high speeds.

Leonids, Perseids, Geminids. Every now and then throughout the year – especially in August, November and December — we step outside to marvel at these meteor showers, sometimes seeing as many as a hundred of these “failling stars” in just one hour. But, strictly speaking, what’s a meteor shower? Moreover, what’s a meteor? A good, succinct answer is provided by Business Insider’s YouTube channel. Take a look at the video below:

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