Shooting stars, or "falling stars" have enchanted humankind since the dawn of time. These astrophysical phenomena are not actually stars, but meteoroids consisting of small rocks and dust that sometimes enter the Earth's (or ) atmosphere, according to . Should a meteoroid penetrate our planet's atmosphere, its particles then burn up, leaving a bright trail of light known as a behind them. In the rare instance that a meteor survives the high temperatures and lands on Earth, its remaining parts are then classified as a meteorite. , Shooting stars, or "falling stars" have enchanted humankind since the dawn of time. These astrophysical phenomena are not actually stars, but meteoroids consisting of small rocks and dust that sometimes enter the Earth's (or Mars') atmosphere, according to NASA., What Is a Shooting Star? A shooting star, or a meteor, is not a real star but a small piece of rock from space that enters Earth’s atmosphere. They’re also called fireballs. Because this small rock is moving at such high speeds, the friction between the rock and air heats it up until the rock gets really hot and burns up in Earth’s atmosphere..