An exceedingly bright meteor, much brighter than a fireball, is called a bolide. If you see a bright meteor, you will not easily forget it. I still remember the first one I saw when I was growing up, riding my bicycle home one night in Milwaukee. Meteor Showers Meteor showers are caused by the sand-size silicate particles left behind by comets. A dozen meteor showers occur every year as the Earth passes through semi-permanent fields of cometary debris that also orbit the Sun.
Meteors associated with showers appear to originate from a spot in the sky.
A shower is named after the constellation from which the meteors appears to originate. New showers will be established as future cometary debris crosses Earth's orbit. Existing showers will eventually fade away as debris dissipates. The Perseids have been around for a thousand years, while there is no indication of the Quadrantids further back than 200 years. Shower intensity varies and cannot be predicted accurately from year to year.