Why are there shooting stars?
A shooting star is a tiny space rock zooming into the air around Earth.
Pip’s answer
- A shooting star is a tiny space rock zooming into the air around Earth.
- It rushes so fast that it gets hot and glows like a bright streak. Zip!
- Most are smaller than a pebble and burn up long before they reach the ground.
- Ooh, on some nights you can spot lots of shooting stars in one hour!
Try it together
Can you zip your finger across the sky like a shooting star?
For grown-ups
A 'shooting star' is a meteor: a small piece of space rock, often the size of a grain of sand or pebble, entering Earth's atmosphere at high speed. Friction heats it until it glows and usually burns up. During meteor showers, Earth passes through comet debris and you can see many per hour.
Ask your child: Shall we stay up to watch the next meteor shower?
More questions kids ask
- ☄️Why do comets have tails?
- 🌕Why does the moon have holes?
- ⭐Why do stars twinkle?
- 🌙Why does it get dark at night?
- 🌓Why does the moon change shape?
- 🌕Why doesn’t the moon fall down?
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