WHY do stars fall?

When we see a “falling star” or “shooting star,” what we are actually seeing is a meteor. Meteors are pieces of rock or dust that enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up due to friction with the air, creating a bright streak of light in the sky. These streaks of light are what we commonly refer to as “falling stars.”

Meteors are formed from the debris left over from comets and asteroids. As these celestial bodies orbit the sun, they leave behind a trail of dust and small rocks. When the Earth passes through these trails of debris, the tiny particles enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up, creating the streaks of light we see as meteors.

Some meteors are large enough to survive the trip through the Earth’s atmosphere and hit the ground as meteorites. These meteorites are valuable to scientists because they can provide insight into the composition and history of the solar system.

It is important to note that the stars that we see in the night sky are much larger and farther away than meteors, and they don’t actually “fall” to the Earth. They are held in place by the force of gravity and continue to orbit around the center of the galaxy.

In summary, “falling stars” or “shooting stars” are actually meteors, which are small pieces of rock or dust that burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere due to friction, creating a bright streak of light in the sky. They are formed from the debris left behind by comets and asteroids and are not related to the stars that we see in the night sky, which are much larger and farther away and don’t fall to the Earth.