Month-by-month information on meteor showers and how to make the most of watching them. Advice on starting and building a meteorite collection plus the scientific explanation of what meteors are and where they come from. Includes new information about recent space exploration and studies of meteors.

The earth is bombarded both day and night by meteoroids and meteorites. These wayward bodies--small fragments derived from aging comets and the collisions between asteroids--are observed in the Earth’s upper atmosphere as meteors and brilliant fireballs. Written with the amateur astronomer in mind, this book includes step-by-step guidance on visual observation and analyzing data, practical projects that demonstrate how the observer can gather scientifically useful data, and instructions on how to identify and photograph meteor trails.

Describes what meteors and micrometeors are, and describes the different types of meteorites, including lunar and martian meteorites, and how meteorites form craters.

What is unique about Richard Norton's book is that it is both a field guide to observing meteors, and also a field guide to locating, preparing and analysing meteorites. In addition to giving the reader information about observing techniques for meteors, this book also provides a fully detailed account of the types of meteorites, how and where to find them, how to prepare and analyse them. The book provides everything the amateur astronomer (or geologist!) needs to know about meteors and meteorites. It is thus the only complete book on the subject available at present.

This definitive guide provides advanced students and researchers with a detailed yet accessible overview of all of the central topics of meteor science. Leading figures from the field summarise their active research on themes ranging from the physical composition of meteoroids to the most recent optical and radar observations and ongoing theoretical developments. Crucial practical issues are also considered, such as the risk posed by meteoroids - to spacecraft, and on the ground - and future avenues of research are explored. Taking advantage of the latest dynamical models, insights are offered into meteor flight phenomena and the evolution of meteoroid streams and complexes, as well as describing the in-depth laboratory analysis of recovered material. The rapid rate of progress in twenty-first-century research makes this volume essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand how recent developments broaden our understanding of meteors, meteoroids and their origins.

A comprehensive overview of the extraterrestrial matter that falls to Earth from space.

How meteors & meteorites form, where to find them along with expert advice on collecting.