21. What causes a shooting star, and why are we able to see so many during the month of August? (A K2S Question)

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A shooting star is not really a star but a meteor, where a usually small piece of material burns up in the Earth's atmosphere. During the year there are predictable meteor showers when the Earth passes through clouds of debris that are orbiting the Sun, and in August we have the Perseid meteor shower.

Answer provided by Dirk Terrell, Ph.D.


Image:K2S logosmall.jpg Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer


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