Falling stars, we see them on TV shows, cartoons, sometimes even if real life too. They’re always a mesmerizing sight, one that leaves you in quiet awe and wonder. But has that wonder ever lead you to wonder what actually causes these falling stars to happen?
Google defines ‘falling star’ as a shooting star, but it actually has nothing to do with a star!
These amazing streaks of light we see sometimes in the night sky are caused by tiny bits of dust and rock called meteoroids falling into the Earth’s atmosphere and burning up.
The short-lived trail of light the burning meteoroid produces is called a meteor. Meteors are commonly called falling stars or shooting stars!
There’s actually slight timing to this whole procedure too, at certain times of the year a lot of meteors can be seen in the sky.
These meteor sightings are called meteor showers and they happen when the Earth passes through the trail of debris (scattered small particles of dust or rock) left by comets as they orbit the Sun.
So that’s how a shooting star comes to be. There’s also a myth related to this event, that if you wish on a falling star it comes true, do you believe in this? Feel free to share!