Paul DeAngelis, age 10, of Coventry, R.I., for his question:

HOW DO THEY PREDICT METEOR SHOWERS?

When year after year a meteor shower occurs on the same date, we can expect a repeat performance. This sort of thing has been happening since time began. Not only do certain meteor showers reappear on the same date, year after year, but each one also appears in a certain part of the sky. We now know the tiny sparks are specks of dust left by long gone comets, when they crossed the earth's orbit to visit the sun.

Meteor .showers are named for the starry constellations where they appear. Around Aug. 10, we expect the Perseids. They seem to fall from the constellation Perseus in the northeastern sky. On April 20 to 22, we can expect the Lyrids to appear in the northeast. On May 4 to 6, the Aquarids usually appear in the east. Each of these meteor showers was left by the tail of a passing comet.