Shooting stars are not stars, but rather small pieces of rock or dust that hit Earths atmosphere from space. They move so fast that they heat up and glow as they move through the atmosphere, creating the appearance of a star shooting across the sky. Astronomers call these shooting stars meteors. Most meteors burn up in the atmosphere before they reach the ground, but occasionally a meteor is large enough that some of it survives and reaches Earth's surface, at which point it is called a meteorite.
Meteoroids are objects in space that range in size from dust grains to small asteroids. When meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere (or that of another planet) at high speed and burn up, the fireballs or "shooting stars" are called meteors. During their journey through the atmosphere, meteors rub against air particles, creating friction and heat. The heat then vaporizes most meteors, resulting in bright streaks of light across the sky.
Meteor showers occur when crumbs of dust (meteoroids) from asteroids or comets enter Earth's atmosphere at very high speeds. Depending on where the trail of particles falls in a particular year, meteor showers can be spectacular or a total bust. The moon can also play a significant role in the visibility of a meteor shower, with a bright full moon outshining fainter meteors and a new moon providing dark skies ideal for shooting star hunters.
