Stare up at the night sky, and if you’re lucky, you might see a shooting star. Some people might make a wish, but CrowdScience listener Scott in California in the USA, thinks differently. He’s wondering how dangerous they might be.
Shooting stars are actually meteors, ending their incredible journey whizzing through the depths of space by burning through our atmosphere, and crashing down to earth. And Scott’s not wrong to worry about them! In May 2026, an enormous meteor exploded off the coast of Massachusetts, causing a loud sonic boom before crashing into the ocean, releasing the equivalent energy of 300 tons of TNT!
So, how many meteors make it to our atmosphere in the first place? How many of them survive long enough to make it to the surface? How many come down in places where people live, and how much should we be worried about it happening to us?
Marnie Chesterton is peering up into the sky for answers.
PRESENTER: Marnie Chesterton
PRODUCER: Emily Knight
EDITOR: Ben Motley
(photo: Meteor Impact On Earth - Fired Asteroid In Collision With Planet - Contain 3d Rendering - elements of this image furnished by NASA - stock photo- Credit: RomoloTavani via Getty Images)
