Astronomy Practice Exam 2025 – Complete Preparation Guide

The streak of light known as a meteor occurs primarily because of a meteoroid entering the Earth's atmosphere. When a meteoroid, which is a small rocky or metallic body from space, collides with Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, it experiences immense friction with the air. This friction generates a significant amount of heat, causing the meteoroid to glow brightly as it vaporizes in the atmosphere. This glowing trail is what we observe as a meteor.

Meteoroids can vary in size, but most are quite small (from grains of sand to larger rocks), and when they burn up in the atmosphere, they create this spectacular visual phenomenon. The process usually happens in the mesosphere, at altitudes of about 75 to 100 kilometers (46 to 62 miles).

Other options do not accurately describe the phenomenon of a meteor. For instance, a comet breaking apart might produce meteoroids but does not directly result in a meteor. Similarly, a satellite re-entering the atmosphere can create a bright streak but is a different event primarily associated with human-made objects rather than natural meteoroids. Lastly, a planet orbiting the sun does not produce meteors since it refers to a celestial body rather than the interaction of smaller bodies