Wham! A pop quiz: what’s the difference between a meteoroid, meteor, and meteorite?

Dr. Bill Cooke, leader of NASA’s Meteroid Environment Office (MEO), asked this question at the beginning of his presentation on meteors and fireballs at Mrs. Stratton’s classroom on Friday afternoon. A group of kids from the Astronomy Club and Science National Honor Society listened on curiously about this peculiarly specific space talk.

These “chunks of rocks and ice” may seem boring to even the most scientifically-inclined student, but Dr. Cooke’s talk proved that there’s a lot to learn about such a big part of our solar system. As Dr. Cooke explained, these space rocks are what make up the beautiful shooting stars so many people wish upon, and these “falling stars” that come streaking down to Earth often perform a show of sunlight-level brightness, these sights called “fireballs.”

Dr. Cooke offered great insight into the viewing of meteor showers, naming the Perseids and Geminids as the most spectacular to watch. “When I was in high school in the Stone Age, I would always go out to see the Perseids. Ignoring all of those mosquitoes, it was definitely the most comfortable meteor shower viewing.”

The talk also brought up the relevancy of meteors in today’s world with a gallery on the 2013 Chelyabinsk superbolide, numerous videos displaying the spectacular brightness of the meteor and the ensuing shockwave that caused incredible damage. The attending students jumped and boggled at these scenes, the power of these supposedly simple space rocks suddenly very clear.

Everyone remained totally engaged, and as Mrs. Stratton put it, “I was glad to see everyone enjoy the talk. Even I learned something about that Chelyabinsk incident!”

Dr. Cooke seemed delighted to share his extensive knowledge on his choice of study.

“I chose to study meteors and similar objects for two reasons. One, not a lot of others are doing it; lots of people in astronomy want to delve into the stereotypical ‘cool stuff’ like exoplanets or galaxies. I wanted to look at space rocks,” Cooke said, laughing. “The second reason is: I think they’re really fun. I like things that go boom.”