Fill in the blank:
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comet
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meteor
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meteorite
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none of the above
Reveal answer
Fill a bubble to check yourself
B
Correct answer
Explanation
Shooting stars look like stars that quickly shoot across the sky, but they are not stars. 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. Shooting stars are actually what astronomers call meteors. Most meteors burn up in the atmosphere before they reach the ground. However, once in a while a meteor is large enough than some of it survives and reaches Earth's surface. Then it is called a meteorite.
Hence, shooting star is a common name for the visible path of a meteoroid as it enters the atmosphere, becoming a meteor.