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Astronomy Year / Week 10 / Monday
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Week 10 · Shooting Stars

Monday

A shooting star is not a star
// Meteors and meteor showers
⏱ about 15 min

Monday: Not a star at all

Zip! A streak of light flashes across the sky.

"A shooting star!" Rocket shouts. "Did a star fall?"

Raven thinks. "What do you notice? The other stars are all still there."

Nova hums. "Hint: it was something much smaller and much closer."

What a meteor is

A meteoroid is a small space rock.

Sometimes one zips into Earth's air.

The rock gets very, very hot.

The hot air around it glows.

We see a bright streak. That streak is a meteor.

People call meteors shooting stars.

But a meteor is not a star at all!

METEOR CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
What is a shooting star really?
What makes the bright streak?
HOW A METEOR HAPPENS
  • Tap a card.
  • Then tap its spot.
1First
2Next
3Then
4Last

Three space rock words

WordWhat it means
MeteoroidA small rock out in space
MeteorThe bright streak in our air
Shooting starAnother name people use for a meteor
SPACE ROCK WORDS
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A small rock floats out in space. What is it called?
You see a bright streak in the sky. What is it called?
After a meteor, are the stars still in their places?
Where does a meteor happen?
Meteor factTrue or false?
A meteor is a falling star.?
A meteoroid is a small space rock.?
The air around a hot space rock glows.?
Shooting star is another name for a meteor.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEThe right words help you tell what you saw.
Try it
Make a meteor streak picture.
On dark paper, make lots of tiny star dots.
Add one long, bright streak across them.
That streak is your meteor!
Draw a night sky with stars and one meteor streak.

You know the secret of shooting stars! Tomorrow we learn about meteor showers.