Millions of meteors can enter Earth’s atmosphere every day. Some meteors are so bright they can cast a shadow on Earth. Those meteors are called fireballs. When a fireball explodes in the atmosphere it is called a bolide. The largest meteors are sometimes broken parts of asteroids. There are about nine annual meteor showers every year. Native Americans hold the record of most meteors seen. Meteors travel 5,000 times faster than a car going as fast as it can on a highway. The force of a meteoroid pushing hard against air on the Earth is called ram pressure. Meteors can be as hot as 3,000 degrees fahrenheit. If a fireball the size of a marble hit the Earth it would be like 2 cars crashing on a highway. Fireballs shine brighter than the planets. Meteors are normally the size of a tennis ball. Some meteors are as tiny as a grain of salt and other meteors can get to be up to 974 km.
“Meteor.” World Book Kids World Book, 2013.Web. 29 Jan. 2013