Meteors
流星

Meteor showers are just the debris of a passing comet or sometimes the debris from a fragmented asteroid.When a comet nears the sun, its icy surface heats up. This causes clouds of gas, dirt and dust to be released, forming a tail of debris that can stretch for millions of miles. As Earth passes near the dusty tail, some of the dust particles hit our atmosphere. They burn up and create the great celestial fireworks we see.
流星雨只是慧星經過的殘留物、或偶而也是來自破碎隕石的碎片。當慧星靠近太陽的時候，它的冰凍表面加熱了起來。這會造成瓦斯氣體、灰塵和泥土的釋放，形成一條延伸數百萬哩的殘留物尾巴。當地球經過靠近塵土尾巴的時候，有些塵土微粒打到了我們大氣層。它們就燃燒了起來，創造了我們所看到的漂亮太空煙火。

You don't need a telescope or binoculars to view a meteor shower.
In fact, meteor showers are best seen with the unaided eye. Meteor showers are best seen in the hours after midnight. That's when Earth is facing the direction in which the dust particles are colliding with our atmosphere.
你不需要單筒望遠鏡或雙筒望遠鏡來看流星雨。事實上，流星雨最好的觀賞就是沒有輔助器協助的眼睛。流星雨最好的觀賞時間是午夜以後。那是地球對上塵土微粒打到了我們大氣層的方向。

asteroid(隕石):由石塊、碳或金屬組成、環繞太陽飛行、沒有活動的物體。

comet(慧星):由塵土和冰組成、環繞太陽飛行、當它接近太陽時會釋放瓦斯氣體、灰塵和泥土，形成一條延伸尾巴。

meteor(流星):亦稱為shooting star；當慧星或隕石的殘留碎片進入地球大氣層燃燒了起來。

meteorite(撞擊了地球的流星物體):有些慧星或隕石的殘留碎片進入地球大氣層沒有完全燃燒而撞擊了地球的殘留物體。

Copyright 2008
AmStar Creative Ltd.
美星國際企業有限公司

Tel: (02) 26730265 Fax: (02)26733532
E-mail: service@amstarcreative.com
Website: www.amstarcreative.com