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What causes a "falling star"? Answer: A "falling star" or a "shooting star" has nothing at all to do with a star! These amazing streaks of light you can sometimes see in the night sky are caused by tiny bits of dust and rock called meteoroids falling into the Earth's atmosphere and burning up.
- Constellation
In ancient times, people saw asterisms and made up all kinds...
- Meteoroids
Most meteors glow for only a few seconds prior to burning up...
- Acknowledgments
Star Art images of Canis Major, Cassiopeia, and Ursa Major...
- Dr. Laura A. Whitlock
Dr. Laura A. Whitlock served as the Education and Outreach...
- The StarChild Team
The StarChild Team. StarChild has been developed primarily...
- Dr. Alan P Smale
" Kilohertz X-ray variability from an accreting neutron star...
- Astrophysics Science Division
All are encouraged to cancel or reschedule their meetings...
- Constellation
A meteor, known colloquially as a shooting star or falling star, is the visible passage of a glowing meteoroid, micrometeoroid, comet or asteroid through Earth's atmosphere, after being heated to incandescence by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere, creating a streak of light via its rapid motion and sometimes also ...
Oct 8, 2019 · Learn what falling stars or shooting stars are, how they are formed, and why they are called so. Find out the best time and place to see them, and some interesting facts about meteors and meteorites.
Apr 27, 2024 · Learn what a shooting star (meteor) is, how it is formed, and what types of meteors exist. Find out how often shooting stars hit the Earth and what they are made of.
Jun 24, 2002 · Commonly known as "shooting," or "falling," stars, these objects vary in size from mere dust specks to small bits of rock and metal with masses typically less than one gram (weight of 0.04 oz.).