SOLAR SYSTEM

Detailed explanation-1: -When meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere (or that of another planet, like Mars) at high speed and burn up, the fireballs or “shooting stars” are called meteors. When a meteoroid survives a trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it’s called a meteorite.

Detailed explanation-2: -Complete answer: Many meteorites are formed from a collision of asteroids that rotate around the sun between the tracks of Mars and Jupiter in the region called the asteroid belt. As asteroids break into each other, they produce loose debris-meteoroids.

Detailed explanation-3: -A shooting star is really a small piece of rock or dust that hits Earth’s atmosphere from space. It moves so fast that it heats up and glows as it moves through the atmosphere.

Detailed explanation-4: -Meteors (or shooting stars) are very different from comets, although the two can be related. A Comet is a ball of ice and dirt, orbiting the Sun (usually millions of miles from Earth). As the ices in the nucleus are heated and vaporized by the Sun, gas escapes, taking dust particles along with it.

Detailed explanation-5: -Shooting stars, or meteors, are caused by tiny specks of dust from space. These particles burn up 65 to 135 km above Earth’s surface as they plunge at terrific speeds into the upper atmosphere, making the air glow as they pass.

Detailed explanation-6: -A “falling star” or a “shooting star” has nothing at all to do with a star! These amazing streaks of light you can sometimes see in the night sky are caused by tiny bits of dust and rock called meteoroids falling into the Earth’s atmosphere and burning up.