Meteors & fireballs

On any clear night, several meteors an hour can usually be seen, and during a meteor shower there are many more, as Earth passes through the debris left by a comet or, in a few cases, an asteroid.^[1] Scientists estimate that about 44 tonnes of meteoritic material reach Earth every day, almost all of it vaporized high in the atmosphere.^[1] Several thousand meteors a day are bright enough to count as fireballs, though most occur over oceans or in daylight.^[2]