Do falling stars harm the earth?

So called falling stars are actually dust and debris from space. Every day, countless numbers of these meteors collide with the bulky earth and their space traveling days are over. Most of them are no larger than grains of sand. They heat up as they crash through the atmosphere and burn to dust long before they reach the ground.

Once in a great while, a meteor is large enough to survive the scorching trip down. It lands on the ground or more likely in the sea and becomes a meteorite. Large meteorites are very, very rare and there is no record of anyone being hit by one or any property being seriously damaged. The dust from the small, burned out meteors, however, is another matter. It filters down through the air and through the years it adds many extra tons to the weight of the world. It is doubtful whether this does any harm and it may even add minerals and richness to the soil.