Have you ever seen a falling star? Some people call them shooting stars. They're not really stars at all! It might surprise you to find out that these streaks of light are caused by dust and rock. Dust and rock in space sometimes are pulled into Earth's atmosphere. As they fall, friction from falling through the air gets them very hot. They get so hot they catch on fire! In space, they are called meteoroids. As the meteoroid falls, it usually burns up in the atmosphere. The streak of light we see is called a meteor, falling star, or shooting star .....