Editing Meteor (section)

=== Colours ===
[[File:Leonid Meteor.jpg|thumb|A meteor of the [[Leonid meteor shower]]; the photograph shows the meteor, afterglow, and wake as distinct components]]

The visible light produced by a meteor may take on various hues, depending on the chemical composition of the meteoroid, and the speed of its movement through the atmosphere. As layers of the meteoroid abrade and ionize, the colour of the light emitted may change according to the layering of minerals. Colours of meteors depend on the relative influence of the metallic content of the meteoroid versus the superheated air plasma, which its passage engenders:<ref>{{cite web| title = Background facts on meteors and meteor showers.
 | publisher = NASA
 | url = http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/meteor.html
 | access-date = 2014-02-24}}
</ref>
* Orange-yellow ([[sodium]])
* Yellow ([[iron]])
* Blue-green ([[magnesium]])
* Violet ([[calcium]])
* Red (atmospheric [[nitrogen]] and [[oxygen]])