<P> Meteors become visible between about 75 to 120 km ( 45 to 75 mi ) above Earth . They usually disintegrate at altitudes of 50 to 95 km ( 30 to 60 mi ) . Meteors have roughly a fifty percent chance of a daylight ( or near daylight ) collision with Earth . Most meteors are , however , observed at night , when darkness allows fainter objects to be recognized . For bodies with a size scale larger than 10 cm to several meters meteor visibility is due to the atmospheric ram pressure ( not friction ) that heats the meteoroid so that it glows and creates a shining trail of gases and melted meteoroid particles . The gases include vaporised meteoroid material and atmospheric gases that heat up when the meteoroid passes through the atmosphere . Most meteors glow for about a second . </P>
<P> Meteors become visible between about 75 to 120 km ( 45 to 75 mi ) above Earth . They usually disintegrate at altitudes of 50 to 95 km ( 30 to 60 mi ) . Meteors have roughly a fifty percent chance of a daylight ( or near daylight ) collision with Earth . Most meteors are , however , observed at night , when darkness allows fainter objects to be recognized . For bodies with a size scale larger than 10 cm to several meters meteor visibility is due to the atmospheric ram pressure ( not friction ) that heats the meteoroid so that it glows and creates a shining trail of gases and melted meteoroid particles . The gases include vaporised meteoroid material and atmospheric gases that heat up when the meteoroid passes through the atmosphere . Most meteors glow for about a second . </P>
how far away can you see a meteor
how far away can you see a meteor
between about 75 to 120 km ( 45 to 75 mi )
between about 75 to 120 km ( 45 to 75 mi )