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Why do meteor showers occur?

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Answer: Earth crosses comet debris trails

Gravity pulls asteroids to Earth yearlyWrong. Gravity doesn't suddenly pull asteroids to Earth annually. Meteor showers occur because Earth's orbit crosses comet debris trails at the same time each year.

Stars shoot matter toward usWrong. Shooting stars aren't from stars. They're tiny particles (often comet debris) burning up in Earth's atmosphere at high speed.

Earth crosses comet debris trailsCorrect! Comets leave debris trails along their orbits. When Earth's orbit intersects these trails, particles enter our atmosphere at ~70 km/s, heating and glowing—meteors! Showers occur annually (Perseids, Leonids, etc.) when Earth crosses the same comet paths. Multiple meteors appear from one 'radiant' point (perspective effect)!

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