How often do you see shooting stars?

[Peleke4]

I ask because I saw two shooting stars within the past week. And then tonight, I saw a HUGE bright shooting star that tripped me out! It was really sweet. So I asked my co-workers how often they've seen shooting stars. One responded only once in her life. Another responded not often at all. I then googled and found different opinions: some say it's a rarity while others say you should catch a shooting star once every fifteen minutes or so.

I hardly ever catch shooting stars so I thought it was nice to be on a roll catching three within a week. By the way, I live in Southern California.

Oh and another thing, I'm not lounging staring at the sky all night long. I caught the stars on my way back home from work and during break.

[Beloved]

I think I saw one years ago. I was sitting in a car waiting for my husband to come out when I saw a small white streak in the sky that only lasted for a split second.

I just spent the weekend at an undeveloped beachside town. We were on the beach first night and the stars were the brightest I've seen for years. If it wasn't so cold I should have stayed watching for shooting stars, maybe next time.

[Matthew Shea]

That sounds like an unusual bit of good luck to me. I've seen them once in 33 years on this earth.

[Ree]

Matthew, I'm glad you asked that! My early morning walk often takes me out in my neighborhood before daylight, depending on the season, and I have seen numerous shooting stars over the past year or so. For a while it seemed like I saw one every morning! Just a wink from the Universe, I said to myself

[Old Soul]

neat.... I have not seen a falling star in quite awhile actually
but then again I would have to actually stay up at night to see it...

lol I go to bed early and get up early...... think i should stay up later

[Love]

I've seen one in nearly 24 years, so for you to see 3 in one week is quite a treat!! I'm glad you saw them!

[cdn2wheeler]

To raise your chances of seeing one, go out on a moonless, cloudless night away from city lights on these dates, and look roughly to the northeast :

Orionids, October 21
Leonids, November 18
Geminids, December 14

(dates from StarDate Online)

[AddictiveX]

Iv only ever seen two in my whole life, maybe I should lay and look at the sky some more, to reflect

[WanderingOak]

I drive to work between 5-6 in the morning. Back when I took the (treeless) interstate, I saw quite a few every fall. Now, thanks to road destruction, I take tree-lined back roads, so I don't get to see anywhere near as many anymore.

[Lola]

I've seen oodles of shooting stars in my life. But you do have to be out at the right time (5-6 am is good, WanderingOak) and it does need to be clear and dark - away from city lights and obstructions, and, like most things in life, you have to be looking for them.

The best meteor shower ever was during a trip to Colorado years ago. A bunch of us were hiking and camped high on a mountain overnight. The sky was so black and the stars so close. There was one meteor after another - it was almost like watching fireworks. Quite impressive.

Thanks for the dates cdn - I'll make a note to watch the sky.

[DrMartinRussell]

In the most recent lunar eclipse my wife, daughter and I went out to marvel at a reddish moon.

They both saw a shooting star, but by the time I turned around I had missed it.

I think you've got to be just laying back watching for them.