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When meteors enter the Earth's atmosphere they experience friction due to collisions with the atmosphere; by the time they reach 50 to 75 mi (80-120 km) from the earth's surface, they have been heated to incandescence through friction and are visible as "shooting stars," or "falling stars." ...
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoSpace rock gets sucked in by Earth's gravity and gets pulled downwards. This happens at such a fast rate that the rock heats up and essentially on fire. The "tail" of the shooting star you see is the heat given off as it travels downwards. That's why when the shooting star reaches the ground, it is usually nothing but a small piece of rock!
Wiki User
∙ 7y agoA shooting star is a meteor that is burning up on entering the earth's atmosphere. We don't notice any during daylight, but need the darkness of night. Apart from meteorites that range from very large lumps of rock to little more than a grain of sand, debris off space crafts also re-enter the atmosphere and burn up (hopefully) with a streak of light in the night sky.
Wiki User
∙ 5y agoThe correct term for a shooting star is "meteor". They are made by small grains of cosmic dust left over from the formation of the solar system when they enter Earth's atmosphere. They are bright like a star but move fast across the sky burning up as a streak if light. This is why they are called "shooting stars". They are also called "falling stars".
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Most "shooting stars" are sand sized grains of material shed by comets in their orbits. The fact that they are concentrated within the orbital path of the comet that produced them is the reason they are concentrated into meteor showers at the time of the year when the earth passes through the orbital path of that comet. These "shooting stars" burn up completely very high in the atmosphere.
The name "shooting star" comes from the fact that they look very much like the real (but "fixed") stars observed in the sky, but move very rapidly across the sky before vanishing (actually the earth's atmosphere is moving past these sand sized grains of material shed by comets).
A smaller number of "shooting stars" are larger sized objects having a variety of different origins (e.g. asteroids, comet fragments, artificial satellites falling out of orbit, space garbage left over from rocket launches) and some of these can even make it to the earth's surface.
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoShooting stars are actually asteroids that pass through the edge of our atmosphere.
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoThey are meteors, small rocks that enter the earths atmosphere and burn up by friction.
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoActually it isn't.
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What objects do you see in the night time sky?
the moon, stars, planets, sometimes shooting stars and yea that's about it
Why do you sometimes see to many stars in the night sky?
You cannot see 'too many' stars in the night sky. You can only see those that are visible. Atmospheric conditions vary and with it, its the transparency. The clearer the sky the more stars you can see.
When is a shooting star going to take place?
shooting stars occur all of the time we just dont see them very often
When can you see shooting stars?
Look on the internet for "meteor showers" and you will find dates and what part of the sky to watch.
What does it mean when you see a shooting star with someone twice in a row?
It means you are probably spending a lot of time with that person, and what you think the shooting star is telling you has probably already been true for some time. The shooting stars are beautiful, but they don't 'mean' anything. Oh, and the shooting stars would make a wonderful theme for a poem you write for this 'someone'.
What objects do you see in the night time sky?
the moon, stars, planets, sometimes shooting stars and yea that's about it
Is there really ufos in gta san andreas?
no u can sometimes see shooting stars
Why can you only see shooting stars for a few moments?
Shooting stars are not stars at all. They are tiny bits of debris, usually rock or dust. They completely burn up in our atmosphere (most of them) and so when you see one 'vanish', it is, in fact, gone.
Is it easy to see shooting stars?
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What time can you see shooting stars in Wild World?
You can see shooting stars anytime at night, when there are stars in the sky. Make sure you have no tools in your hand at the time of the shooting star, or you won't be able to wish on it!
Is it possible to see 9 shooting stars in a single night?
It is possible to see hundreds of shooting stars in a single night, during a meteor shower.
Why don't we hear the sound of a shooting star though we can see it?
Normally shooting stars are too high up for us to hear. However this is not always the case, sometimes a big shooting star will come down lower and in these instances we DO hear them.
What do we see comets as?
From the earth we see comets as shooting stars, because theres a tail to it.
Are shooting stars asteroids?
Sometimes. We call them "asteroids" when we see them floating in space. Occasionally, one of them (or a piece of one) will collide with the Earth's atmosphere, and it will burn up as a meteor.
Why do you sometimes see to many stars in the night sky?
You cannot see 'too many' stars in the night sky. You can only see those that are visible. Atmospheric conditions vary and with it, its the transparency. The clearer the sky the more stars you can see.
What do shooting stars mean on animal crossing lets go the city?
if you see a shooting star press a to pray
Why is there never any shooting stars?
There are shooting stars, but at one minute you look for one, and next you don't then it goes past you that fast you can't see it but some people can.
