"You can see a few almost every clear dark night if you look long enough, but periodically the Earth passes through a dense swarm of these particles which have only recently come from their parent comet, giving what we call ameteorshower, " he said.
After a surprising meteorshower sent meteorites crashing on sonic speeds in the Ural mountains of Russia, injuring thousands, the Russian military said Wednesday it will develop technology to shoot them down before the hit Earth.
Sunday's eye-catching event occurred at the height of the annual Lyrid meteorshower, which happens every April as Earth plows through the dust and debris trailing a comet called Thatcher.