Earth & Space
What is a shooting star?
Puschel spots a streak of light in the night sky.
The short answer
A shooting star is a streak of light when small space material enters Earth's air at high speed. Air and material become intensely hot. It is not a whole star falling from the sky.
An imagined Wusel scene
Puschel and Flauschi investigate
The two sit with a blanket on a level meadow. Suddenly a short bright streak crosses the sky.
Puschel“Has a star lost its place?” Flauschi“No. That was a shooting star. Its name sounds different from what it really is.”
Flauschi“A small piece from space entered the layer of air around Earth very quickly. That produced the light.”
Puschel points to where the streak vanished, then to the other stars. Puschel“So they do not have to fill the gap.”
They keep watching quietly. Tonight they see no second streak. Flauschi“That is part of observing too. We cannot order a shooting star.”
Little Wusel quiz
Does a shooting star mean that a star falls to Earth?
Choose one answer: a), b).
- a)No
- b)Yes
Show answer
Correct answer: a): No No. The light appears when material from space rapidly enters the atmosphere.
What is a surviving piece that reaches the ground called?
Show answer
A meteorite. The luminous event in the atmosphere is a meteor.
Word help
- atmosphere
- The gas layer around a world; on Earth it is the air above us.
Explore in more detail
Here you will find longer explanations and further details. You can explore them together.
Understand step by step
How it works – simply explained
A small piece arrives
A meteoroid is material from space. Some meet Earth’s atmosphere, its surrounding air, at high speed.
Entry produces light
Material and nearby air become very hot. The glow is a meteor or shooting star. No actual star falls down.
Names depend on the stage
Many pieces are largely destroyed. A remnant reaching the ground is a meteorite. Meteoroid, meteor and meteorite therefore mean different things.
The key points again
Discovery 1
A shooting star is not a falling star. It is the luminous event caused when a small piece of material from space enters Earth’s atmosphere, the layer of air around our planet, at high speed. Scientists call the event a meteor.
Source: [1]
Discovery 2
The rapidly entering material becomes very hot and usually largely turns into gas. Many particles are tiny. The bright streak does not show a huge star flying towards us.
Source: [1]
Discovery 3
In space such a piece is called a meteoroid. A surviving piece that reaches the ground is a meteorite. Meteor showers bring many meteors, for example when Earth crosses a trail of small pieces left behind by a comet. A comet is a space object made of ice, dust and rock.