Hey Ray: Meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - There are many things in space for us to see in the night sky. There are also many things we don't know until they hit our atmosphere.
Yes, the meteorologist is finally going to discuss meteors!
We explained in the past why we are called meteorologists (https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/hey-ray-why-are-you-called-a-meteorologist/), but we're going to focus on what most people think of when they hear the term "meteor." Obviously, space has countless galaxies and planets. Space also has countless comets, asteroids, and other meteoroids.
According to the American Meteor Society, the majority of visible meteors are caused by particles ranging in size from about that of a small pebble down to a grain of sand and generally weigh less than 1-2 grams. Some can certainly be bigger, though. Before these rocks or particles hit our atmosphere, they are referred to as "meteoroids."
Once one of these objects hits our atmosphere at a high speed and becomes a fireball, they are referred to as a meteor. If that meteor does not completely burn up in the atmosphere and hits the ground, what is left over on the ground is called a meteorite.
So, what causes these rocks to burn up when they encounter the atmosphere?
The short answer is friction! In the vast vacuum of space, there is a lot of emptiness. That is actually an understatement. As the meteoroid is traveling at incredible speeds through space, it's likely not bumping into anything. NASA says the fastest meteoroids travel at about 26 miles per second!
Once that meteoroid comes into contact with our atmosphere, it starts to come into contact with all the gas and water molecules that make up our atmosphere. We move around pretty well in all these molecules, but when a fast-moving meteoroid slams into all of our atmosphere's molecules, a lot of friction and heat are generated. This is enough to even make a small, fast-moving particle in our atmosphere light up enough to see from Earth's surface.
Some of the bigger meteors seen around here, like the one on Dec. 1, break up while traveling through the atmosphere. As that heat is generated, the meteor starts to disintegrate. That can break meteors into smaller pieces. Some can even explode in the sky.
In 2013, NASA said a meteor the size of a house hit the atmosphere over Russia while traveling at 11 miles per second. This meteor blew up 14 miles above the ground. The energy released created a damaging shock wave that blew out windows for over 200 square miles!
If you remember back in January 2022, a meteor exploded over Pittsburgh! While it was a cloudy day and no one saw the meteor, it blew up making a big boom that was one of the first big news stories of 2022.