Why are there annual meteor showers like the Leonids and Perseids?

Question

I understand that meteor showers are due to the Earth passing through the debris left by a comet, but shouldn’t the Earth clear out any lingering meteors after a few revolutions?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

As I understand it, as a layman. As we travel through space, we follow a regular path. So we go through the same cosmic “neighborhoods”. In which the debris sits.