why do meteors come back?

Question

So there is an article here
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/10/09/science/comet-tsuchinshan-atlas-earth

It speaks about a meteor that will be here in October and not return for 80000 years. I’m just wondering, why do meteors come back?

I assume it takes a lot of force to change the trajectory of a meteor, so wouldn’t it move in the same general direction forever and never come back?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

meteors don’t really come back like boomerangs. they’re usually part of larger objects like comets or asteroids. they follow orbits that can change over time so some might return after a long break. it’s like cosmic schedules that are hard to keep track of you know. time travel for rocks sounds fun tho