If you've ever gazed up at the night sky (and lets just admit it, we all have) you've probably wished upon a shooting star (which are really meteors burning up after entering Earth's atmosphere) at some point in your life, but shooting stars actually do exist, and they're as rare as one in 100 million. Show
In 2005, astronomers discovered the first "hypervelocity" star careening out of the galaxy into intergalactic space at nearly 530 miles per second or almost 2 million miles per hour, which is 10 times faster than ordinary star movement. They were first theorized to exist in 1988, but not confirmed for several more years. The theory was that binary star systems at a galaxy's center would occasionally wander too close to the supermassive black hole looming there, which would disrupt their orbital dance. While one of the pair was captured by the black hole, the other would be sent rocketing off at incredible speeds. Click here to see a larger image (CREDIT: NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI) Back in 2010, another one of these so-called "outcast" stars were discovered that has a slightly more interesting story than the first hypervelocity star that was discovered in 2005 -- and its fall from grace began 100 million years ago. This one is much closer to us and is rocketing out of the galaxy at the intense speed of 1.6 million miles per hour -- over three times faster than the sun is orbiting the galaxy's center! Astronomer's think the star likely resided in a multiple star system that wandered too close to Sagittarius A* in the Milky Way's center. One of them was was lunch for the supermassive black hole, while the momentum of the dead star was transferred to the remaining two, causing them to be flung violently into space at warp speed. The thing is, there's only one star and it's considerably more massive than the sun, so it should have technically exploded as a supernovae a long time ago. This suggests that the two stars actually merged into one, which rejuvenated the stars and extended their life span, categorizing the larger star as a blue-straggler.
Now, the star has traveled 200,000 light-years from the Milky Way's center and is destined to live a lonely life in the outskirts of the galaxy, before violently vomiting its guts up into intergalactic space. There are many magnificent things around us that can take our breath away. Most of them happen right here in our universe, the most interesting and inexplicable places of all. However, to find some beauty in it you don't have to go to the observatory or even own a telescope, you can see it with the naked eye. Spotting a shooting star in the night sky is surely are one of them. However, shooting star isn't really a star falling out of the sky, in fact, it is a meteoroid, fragment of an asteroid or a comet that falls into the Earth's atmosphere and burns up. This formation of rock and dust is pulled by Earth's gravitational field and moves so fast that it heats up. From our point of view, it seems like it is glowing and looks wonderful, but behind it stands pure physics. Basically, friction between these rocks and air molecules creates a huge amount of heat that afterward is converted into light. How often can you see a shooting star?There is a lot of debris floating around in space, which means that dozens of meteors reach our atmosphere every hour. Though most of them never reach the ground - burning up they just turn to dust. However, some of the bigger meteors once in a while the Earth's surface and the parts of these rocks found is called a meteorite. According to the American Meteor Society, you'd expect to see 2 to 16 meteors in a really good dark site. Meteors span across the atmosphere in the day time as well, but we can actually spot them only at night, so they are more common than you might think. When stargazing you can expect to see a shooting star every 10 to 15 minutes, this is an average assumption taking into account that we only see a small part of the sky at once. The best way to improve your chances of seeing meteors are to:
Why do we wish upon a shooting star?In many cultures nowadays there is this superstition that you need to make a wish every time you see ‘shooting star' or, to be scientifically accurate, see burning specks of space dust. Whenever you or your ancestors from year one looked up at the night sky most probably you both did the same ritual. You closed your eyes and wished for something your heart truly desires. But where is this idea rooted? One of the assumptions relies on the frequency of this matter. Meaning, that this happening is very rare, so you can count yourself lucky every time that you experience it. This luck of seeing a shooting star in the night sky then is rewarded by fulfilled fish. Other version dates back to the ancient Greeks, of course. Stating that it was Ptolemy who first compared these meteors to signs of God. Thus, shooting star is an indication that the Gods are now paying attention to whatever you would ask for. In later Christian tradition, they were thought to represent rising or falling souls or angels. In this theory, a falling star is meant as a remembrance of this soul that lights up with your own wishes. We might never know the origin of this matter, however, that won't impact our appreciation of this starry miracle. Every one of us has different beliefs and reasons why we believe the magic of shooting stars. If it makes the world a bit more interesting and mysterious - well there is no harm. And did you make a wish already? Find out more
Star Wiki
 Star Certificate is a private database service and is not affiliated with any governmental entities or educational institutions. How rare is it to see a big shooting star?The number of meteors visible to the unaided eye under a truly dark sky in a 24-hour period all over Earth is estimated to be 25 million (opens in new tab), according to a University of Oregon report.
How rare is it to see a meteor?Under a dark sky, any observer can expect to see between two and seven meteors each hour any night of the year. These are sporadic meteors; their source bodies — meteoroids — are part of the dusty background of the inner solar system.
Can you randomly see a shooting star?A random shooting star can be seen on any night, but at certain times the Earth encounters a stream of dusty particles left over from the evaporation of comets (larger bodies of dirty ice) that leave a dirty wake. During these meteor “showers,” a single observer may see thirty or more meteors per hour.
Where is it most common to see a shooting star?They seem to fall all over the sky, but more shooting stars are seen near the constellation of Perseus, which is visible in the northeast zone of the sky—both for the northern and southern hemispheres—so it's there you should focus your observations.
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How rare is it to see a shooting star
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