Space is littered with cosmic clutter, leaving hardly a clear path for Earth as it orbits the sun. When we pass through this cosmic “garbage,” frozen gas and space dust, it often falls and burns up in our atmosphere resulting in streaks of light—sometimes even spectacular fireballs—known as meteors. Each year, between the period of…

With Christmas right around the corner, a yearly meteor shower spectacle presents a chance to make a wish upon a shooting star. The Geminids meteor shower occurs every mid-December, nominally lasting from November 19 through December 24 in 2022, and they are expected to peak around December 14. You might also sight a fair number…

It was 1986 when the last casual observer spotted Halley’s Comet shedding its detritus throughout the heavens far above the Earth. But every year around late October, Earth passes through that trail of space dust and debris left in the comet’s wake. When these bits of matter strike our atmosphere, they burn up, turning into…

What began as a hunk of frozen gas and space dust orbiting the sun 20,000 years ago will soon appear as a light show in the early morning sky. Stargazers will be treated to two distinct meteor showers which converge in late summer and will soon make their yearly rendezvous again. The famous Perseid meteor shower and…

A strange breed of human, astrophotographers are known to race off from their homes into the mountains in the dead of night upon first hearing of snowfall. Layering up, grabbing his gear, and grabbing a coffee on the way, Nick Faulkner from New Zealand drove the back roads in the dark through several country towns,…

How better to celebrate New Year’s than with a cosmic fireworks show? People will be setting off fireworks in spectacular fashion across the globe—from Tampa to Tokyo—ushering in 2022. But the heavens have a cosmic light show of their own in store—balls of fire shooting from the sky, called the Quadrantids, expected to peak early…

A flash of light, three times as bright as a full moon, lit up the night sky over the mountains of Colorado on Sunday, Oct. 3. As fall descends upon us, meteor season’s in full swing, and is expected to increase as we head further into October—It’s already started off with a bang. Multiple eyewitnesses,…

Australians will be treated with an “incredible display” as one of the best meteor showers this year streaks across on the morning of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, if weather permits. The Eta Aquariids meteor shower, whose peak activity is usually on or around May 5, was formed by bits of rock and ice that had broken…