{"id":11812,"date":"2024-05-15T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=11812"},"modified":"2024-05-17T05:18:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T05:18:05","slug":"curious-kids-what-stops-meteors-hitting-earth-and-hurting-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/curious-kids-what-stops-meteors-hitting-earth-and-hurting-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Curious Kids: what stops meteors hitting Earth and hurting people?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n \n Austin Human\/Unsplash<\/a><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n Sara Webb<\/a>, Swinburne University of Technology<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n
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How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people?<\/p>\n\n

\u2013Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Alright, let\u2019s embark on a meteor adventure! Meteors can sound scary but I promise you they aren\u2019t. Meteors are just cosmic rocks falling into Earth\u2019s atmosphere from outer space. Now, these aren\u2019t any old boring rocks. We\u2019re talking about pieces of asteroids, comets and even fragments from other planets crashing into Earth.<\/p>\n\n

There are also certain times of the year when we experience something called a meteor shower. Imagine Earth is cruising along its normal orbit around the Sun when suddenly it passes through the leftover pieces of rock from a comet<\/a> or asteroid.<\/p>\n\n

Comets and asteroids shed bits and bobs of themselves along their journey as they get closer to the Sun. When Earth zips through this trail of space debris, meteors streak across the sky like shooting stars. <\/p>\n\n

Meteors have been seen by humans all throughout history and have even been described as nature\u2019s fireworks<\/a>. Scientists estimate that over 17,000 meteors<\/a> fall to Earth each year. So, why don\u2019t they hurt us? <\/p>\n\n

\n \"Diagram<\/a>\n
\n Meteor showers are caused when Earth passes through debris left behind by comets or asteroids.<\/span>\n NASA<\/a><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n

Why don\u2019t meteors hit us all the time?<\/h2>\n\n

When meteors light up the sky, we\u2019re actually seeing our planet\u2019s remarkable defence system jumping into action.<\/p>\n\n

When a meteor enters Earth\u2019s atmosphere \u2013 the layer of air that surrounds us \u2013 it meets resistance from the air molecules. This is called friction, and it causes the meteor to quickly heat up.<\/p>\n\n

Remember, a meteor is a piece of rock. The friction heats the rock up so much, it burns and turns into a vapour (sort of like steam). This is what causes the bright streak of a \u201cshooting star\u201d.<\/p>\n\n

Our atmosphere is so good at destroying meteors, around 90\u201395%<\/a> of them don\u2019t even reach the ground. <\/p>\n\n

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