Question

How does a shooting star form?

Answer 1

Hint: Shooting stars are basically meteors that vary in size. Now, a meteor is defined as an object from space whose size varies from a grain of sand to about a few meters in diameter. Anything larger than that falls under the category of an Asteroid. Very small meteors are termed as Space dust. These meteors are generally torn off fragments of a comet or asteroids whereas some are debris formed as a result of collision between two bodies in space.

Complete answer:
Now, when a meteor travelling at a very high speed, that is, of the order of tens of thousands of kilometers per hour enters the atmosphere of Earth, generates a lot of friction and drag. This continuous friction at the surface disintegrates the meteor layer by layer and leaves a trail behind smaller objects. The meteor and its trail undergoes aerodynamic heating due to the extensive drag by the thick atmosphere of the Earth. This heating effect generates visible flashes of light in the sky. This is how shooting stars are formed

Note:
It should be noted that, at times, meteors fall continuously from a particular point in our sky every few seconds or minutes apart. This phenomenon is called a meteor shower. Also, sometimes a very small part of a meteorite is left unburnt while entering the atmosphere and falls off as a piece of rock. These rocks are called meteorites and are considered too valuable for research and analysis.