060126 ~ June Skywatch! - Dr. Buddy Stark

A meteor the size of a small car exploded in Earth's atmosphere over Massachusetts, creating a loud boom and bright fireball visible across multiple states—yet it never touched the ground. Dr. Buddy Stark, director of the University of Michigan Planetarium, explains that such events are actually routine: Earth is constantly hit by space debris, with thousands of small meteors entering the atmosphere daily. The sensation of being hit by space rocks is an illusion—our planet is moving through space and collides with objects at speeds up to 150,000 miles per hour. Most burn up harmlessly as 'shooting stars,' but larger ones like this three-foot-wide rock can explode mid-air, creating sonic booms. The reason we don’t hear these more often? Most occur over oceans, and many are too small to cause noticeable effects. Despite fears, scientists have mapped nearly all large asteroids capable of global catastrophe—though smaller city-destroying rocks remain undetected. Beyond meteor showers, June brings celestial highlights: the summer solstice, a rare conjunction of Venus and Jupiter on June 9th, and Mercury’s greatest elongation on June 15th—when it’s farthest from the sun and briefly visible after sunset. Dr. Stark also shares a fascinating cultural story: in South Africa, the star Regulus was known as the 'fire finisher,' marking the end of winter wood supplies.