A Wonderleaf question
What is a shooting star?
a real page from the book
A shooting star is not a star. It is a tiny bit of space rock or dust, called a meteoroid, that rushes into Earth’s air and heats the gas around it until we see a quick bright streak.
Most of these bits are so small that they vanish high above us. The flash may last only a moment, but it means Earth has just crossed paths with an old crumb from a comet or the early solar system.
Wonder words
- meteoroid
- meteor
- atmosphere
- comet
Try it out
Step outside after dark, find the quietest patch of sky, and count how many moving lights you can explain.
Read the whole picture book
Watercolour scenes, straight answers, about three minutes cover to cover.
Open the picture bookKeep wondering
- How do satellites stay in orbit?
- Could people live on Mars someday?
- What is a black hole?
- Why do astronauts float in space?
- Why is space so dark?
- Why is the moon sometimes out during the day?
And the next question?
Ask anything — Wonderleaf writes and illustrates a picture book for it. That's the whole idea.
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