Meteor showers are among the best-known and most commonly witnessed astronomical phenomena. A meteor shower or shooting stars are actually a large number of meteors that cross Earth's orbit and burn up when they enter the upper layers of the atmosphere.
When seen from the Earth, this phenomenon appears as a magnificent "shower" of falling stars. Before the space age and the advancement of technology, people thought that the night sky blazing with dozens of lights was a supernatural occurrence.
Earth's orbit frequently crosses the path of groups of meteors. Others we encounter less often, every few decades, while still others have been observed and documented 2500 years ago.
In the past humans linked meteor showers with upcoming ill-fortunes. They believed the illumination of the night sky was an evil omen, linking shooting stars to drought, war or mass pestilence in the near future.
Nowadays, meteor showers aren't loaded with such ominous signs. Romantics, lovers, optimists and even skeptics can rejoice, seeing a shooting star in modern times means you should close your eyes, make a wish and hope that it comes true.
