Watching a shooting star streak toward the earth is exciting. Actually there are thousands heading our way most of the time, but they are only visible at night.
Shooting stars are more correctly known as meteors. They begin usually as broken or burned-off particles of comets streaming through space. Countless numbers of them eventually group together in what is called a meteoroid swarm, and when their orbits through space bring them near the earth, some are pulled away from the group by the earth’s gravity. Although invisible until they enter our atmosphere, the friction of passing through air causes them to burn at white heat. This becomes a streak of fire in the sky for just a brief moment. Most break and burn up completely before reaching the ground.
There are regular periods of these displays, usually occurring from midnight to six o’clock in the morning. Late July is one period, as well as early August, late October and early January. Of course, it’s necessary to be away from bright lights to see them really well. And it’s no use looking for them on a cloudy, rainy or foggy night, or even when a full moon is high in the sky.
It is estimated that thousands of tons of meteors enter the earth’s atmosphere every year, and in just one of these displays there may be 200,000 or more visible in a six-hour period.
Larger ones, weighing five pounds or more, produce a much brighter display than the smaller ones. Some of these do land on the earth without completely burning up. These are called meteorites. They rarely result in any damage, as most land in ocean waters, deserts, forests or mountains. Many museums have some on exhibit which were found by hikers.
In a few instances, some have been found that weighed several tons. Near Winslow, Arizona, a historic spot named Meteor Crater is where one of these landed long before America was discovered. The meteor itself is apparently buried deep in the ground but has left behind a huge crater that is well worth seeing.
Many things call our attention to the wonderful creation of the Lord God—so many we can never know them all. But perhaps in heaven He will unveil them, one by one, to those who will be there with Him.
Astronomers admit they don’t have any idea how many stars there are, but the Bible tells us the Lord “[counts] the number of the stars; He [calls] them all by their names” (Psalm 147:44He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. (Psalm 147:4)). He has told those who love Him that He is their “Bright and Morning Star” who will soon be coming for them. Will you be one He comes for?
ML-02/10/2019