Whats causing that shooting star

[pelmet]

I believe they say it is space dust the size of a grain of sand that creates the typical shooting star. Not that it really is much use as a navigation tool, but is anyone on the thread knowledgeable about other causes.

[Spokes]

Meteors and meteorites as the enter the atmosphere travel so fast that they compress the air in front of their path, which creates high levels of heat that burn up the object. This is the light of the “shooting star” that you are seeing.

The source of these meteorites are varied. In some cases they are objects that the earth regularly passes through, in other cases they are random rocks and such. Occasionally they are man made space junk that find their way back down. Usually those are small, but from time to time larger objects come.

[pelmet]

Thanks,

You are on the right track. It turns out that man-made space junk creating shooting stars includes excrement produced aboard the space station that is freeze dried and periodically discharged into space. Descending toward earth, it burns in the atmosphere and - according to NASA - looks just like a shooting star.


Tell that to your fellow crewmember the next time you see a shooting star.

[Hockaloogie]

Wow, there is truly no limit to the things you can learn in the "Flight Training" forum. I'm so glad I dropped by. This is much more fun than all that boring schitt about spins & stalls and adverse yaw and whatnot.

[pelmet]

This is much more fun than all that boring schitt about spins & stalls and adverse yaw and whatnot.

Thanks...this is interesting schitt coming from the space station.

[Hockaloogie]

The concept of turd meteors is fascinating to me. I probably need to get out more.

[aeroncasuperchief]

excrement produced aboard the space station that is freeze dried and periodically discharged into space.

That's a pile of shit !