History Of Understanding the Science of Meteors

When did scientists first begin to understand what "falling stars" really were? What did humans originally believe about those flashing lights that darted across the night sky -- and who were the scientific individuals who made and recorded the first accurate observations of meteors? These issues and others related to meteors will be presented in this paper.

Brief Review of Ancient Beliefs about Meteors

Author Tamra Andrews explains in her book Dictionary of Nature Myths: Legends of the Earth, Sea, and Sky, that ancient people apparently associated meteors with evil. In particular, Tamara writes, "people believed these flaming rock fragments were demons" that were flying down to earth for "some malevolent reason" (Andrews, 2000, p. 123). Some ancient civilizations had a fear of fire and as Andrews mentions, seeing a "strange occurrence in the sky" seemed to be upsetting the universe in some...
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