On Aug.11 and 12, 2013, the annual Perseid meteor shower
will peak, filling the sky with streaks of light, commonly known as shooting
stars. Such visually stunning showers are actually but the tip of the iceberg
when it comes to meteoroids slamming into Earth's atmosphere
Some 10 to 40 tons of material of invisible meteoric dust
enters the atmosphere from interplanetary space every day
These fragments plough into Earth's atmosphere at speeds of
between 7 to 44 miles per second. They also bring with them minerals and metals
from their parent bodies, such as sodium, silicon, calcium and magnesium
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