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Everyone has seen a shooting star right? Well maybe not, but everyone must have heard of it. But do you really know what shooting stars are? Are they even stars in the first place? How do they come about? What do they signify? Could they be dangerous? Read along to find out.

Meteors, popularly known as "shooting stars" are formed when meteoroids (rock or iron particles in space, not more than 1meter in diameter) enter the earth's atmosphere. The meteoroids are hurled towards earth at very high speeds (about 20km/s and above), and as they enter the earth's atmosphere, they encounter resistance from the air, this causes friction and the meteoroid eventually lights up (burns). This is what is seen as a shooting star (meteor). So in the real sense, shooting stars are not actually stars. Meteors are not really uncommon, it is estimated that millions of meteoroids enter the earth's atmosphere every day (both day and night). One only needs to be observant of the night sky long enough to catch a shooting star.

Generally meteors are harmless, as they usually burn up while they travel in the sky. The ones that do not burn up completely land as a small fraction of the original meteoroid. This small fraction that remains and falls to the ground is called a "meteorite". That is METEOROID(from outer space) >>>> METEOR (shooting star in earth's atmosphere) >>>>>> METEORITE (small remnant of meteor on the earth's surface) Rarely though, larger meteors could explode in air, releasing energy that could impact nearby objects or persons.

It is a widespread belief that making a wish upon seeing a shooting star makes the wish come true. While it is not clear how this belief came into being and became widely accepted, and though there is no scientific backing, many people have asserted that their wishes have come true upon wishing on a shooting star. So next time you see a shooting star, do not hesitate to make a wish an believe with all of your being. Who knows, your wish might just come true.

Now a brief summary;

• Shooting stars are not stars, but are meteors which are formed when meteoroids from outer space traveling at high speeds enter the earth's atmosphere
• In the atmosphere, air resistance causes the meteoroid to burn (becoming a meteor), giving off the light which is seen as a shooting star.
• Shooting stars are generally harmless, and land as meteorites (small remnants of meteors) on the earth's surface. But rarely large meteors could explode in air.

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