45. Earth Gets 100 Tons Heavier Every Day

As well as having a film of junk floating around above it, and the constant threat of death by unexpected meteor strike, our planet has another thing to worry about - it's putting on weight. And there really isn't much we can do about it because the extra weight is falling out of the sky.

Every day, about 100 tons of meteoroids fall to earth; usually just fragments of space dust and debris, but occasionally full-sized rocks. Until recently, scientists didn't have any way of knowing where they were coming from, or predicting where they would land, but since 2011 they've been monitored by a series of smart cameras deployed by NASA, which track every item entering the Earth's atmosphere. Because the majority of the Earth's surface is uninhabited, the fragments usually land in the ocean, or on deserts, or in forests, so it's rare for you to find one in your back yard - but if you do, now you can log onto NASA's website and find out what is and where it came from.

NEXT


Copyright © 2026 CultureHook