How many meteors have hit the earth?

The Perseid meteor shower — one of the most popular meteor showers of the year — is expected to put on a particularly breathtaking show Aug. 11 and 12, when the Earth passes through the trail of debris created by Comet Swift-Tuttle. read more

A study done in 1996 (looking at the number of meteorites found in deserts over time) calculated that for objects in the 10 gram to 1 kilogram size range, 2900-7300 kilograms per year hit Earth. However, unlike the number above this does not include the small dust particles. read more

The meteor struck 250 million years ago and must have been the biggest explosion ever seen on the planet, far bigger than the 10-kilometre-wide meteor which hit east of Mexico 65 million years ago, wiping out the dinosaurs.. read more