Did You Know: Space – What is a shooting star?
A shooting star isn’t really a star, it is a meteor. This is a piece of rock or dust from space that enters the Earth’s atmosphere.
As it moves through our atmosphere, it heats up and leaves a streak of hot gas behind it in the sky. When there are lots of shooting stars, it is called a meteor shower.
Burning up
The pieces of rock and dust are normally very small. They will usually burn up before they reach the Earth.
Bright streak
As the rock falls toward Earth at high speed, it becomes very hot. This makes the rock and the air around it glow as it speeds through the atmosphere.
What is a meteor shower?
Comets give off lots of pieces of rock and dust when they travel through space.
When Earth’s orbit takes it through this trail, the particles enter the Earth’s atmosphere and create a meteor shower
Which are the best meteor showers to look out for?
Leonid meteor shower
The Leonids are caused by the comet Tempel-Tuttle. They can be seen every November, around the middle of the month.
Perseid meteor shower
This is one of the most popular meteor showers of the year. The Perseid meteor shower is known for its many fast and bright “shooting stars.” It can be seen around the middle of August.