After Effects Tutorial - Shooting Stars, Comets, & Meteor Showers (Exploding Rocket Debris)

This After Effects tutorial shows you how to create a meteor shower or rocket debris effect, inspired by the SpaceX Starship explosion in January 2025. We’ll start by making a simple shooting star, then modify it into a comet or asteroid, and finally create a shower of meteors burning up in the atmosphere—no plugins needed! This tutorial moves fast — be ready to learn a lot about Adobe After Effects and the CC Particle World effect, and when you're done, you'll have an awesome animation!

To download AfterGlow and _Creation Lens Flares_, go to www.creationeffects.com/ and head to the "Freebies" page. These two 100% free tools are optional but will enhance the tutorial animation and elevate your future projects.
AfterGlow - A free preset for a larger, more intense glow in After Effects
Creation Lens Flares - A free template with 50 customizable lens flares

Make space animations with _Space Effects_: www.creationeffects.com/space-effects
Make 3D landscapes with _Landscaper_: www.creationeffects.com/landscaper
Make custom bird animations with _Flocks_: www.creationeffects.com/flocks

EXPRESSIONS: Put the following three expressions in the Producer section of the CC Particle World effect. Make sure a Layer Control is on the layer named "Follow Layer", and set it to the Null layer you want to follow.

Position X:
x = effect("Follow Layer")("Layer").transform.position[0]/thisLayer.width; value - (thisLayer.width/2)/thisLayer.width + x;

Position Y:
x = effect("Follow Layer")("Layer").transform.position[1]/thisLayer.width; value - (thisLayer.height/2)/thisLayer.width + x;

Position Z:
x = effect("Follow Layer")("Layer").transform.position[2]/thisLayer.width; value - (thisLayer.width/2)/thisLayer.width + x + 0.5;

To make your lens flare follow your comet or meteor, put the following expression on the "Lens Flare Position" property, inside the "Global Controls", on your lens flare layer:
L=thisComp.layer("Comet Position"); L.toComp([0,0,0]);

Additional Links:
Mixed Media Effect - www.creationeffects.com/mixed-media-effect
Swarms - www.creationeffects.com/swarms
Schools - www.creationeffects.com/schools
Wisp - www.creationeffects.com/wisp
Creation Trippy Effects - creationeffects.com/creation-trippy-effects
Infinite Horizon - www.creationeffects.com/infinite-horizon

0:00 Intro
1:19 Create a shooting star
3:01 Make it follow a Null layer
4:56 CC Particle World properties
7:26 Create a comet
13:47 Add a glow
16:02 Add a lens flare
19:15 Other FX made in AE
21:05 Create a meteor shower
29:47 Additional VFX templates