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2. What causes a "falling star"? - NASA

   starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question12.html

   A "falling star" or a "shooting star" has nothing at all to do with a star! These amazing streaks of light you can sometimes see in the night sky are caused by tiny bits of dust and rock called meteoroids falling into the Earth's atmosphere and burning up. The short-lived trail of light the burning meteoroid produces is called a meteor.

3. StarChild: Meteoroids - NASA

   starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level2/meteoroids.html

   A meteoroid is a piece of stony or metallic debris which travels in outer space. Meteoroids travel around the Sun in a variety of orbits and at various speeds. The fastest meteoroids move at about 42 kilometers per second. Most meteoroids are about the size of a pebble. When one of these pieces of debris enters the Earth's atmosphere, friction ...

4. Why does the Sun rise in the east and set in the west? - NASA

   starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question14.html

   Answer: The Sun, the Moon, the planets, and the stars all rise in the east and set in the west. And that's because Earth spins -- toward the east. For a moment, let us ignore Earth's orbit around the Sun (as well as the Sun's and solar system's revolution around the center of the Galaxy, and even the Galaxy's journey through the universe).

5. StarChild: Stars - NASA

   starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/universe_level2/stars.html

   A star is a brilliantly glowing sphere of hot gas whose energy is produced by an internal nuclear fusion process. Stars are contained in galaxies. A galaxy contains not only stars, but clouds of gas and dust. These clouds are called nebulae, and it is in a nebula where stars are born. In the nebula is hydrogen gas which is pulled together by ...

6. StarChild: Glossary - NASA

   starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/glossary_level1/glossary_text.html

   A metric temperature scale in which water freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100 degrees. To fall down or fall to pieces. A crash or forceful joining together. A big ball of dirty ice and snow in outer space. An astronaut from the former Soviet Union or present day Russia.

7. StarChild: Comets - NASA

   starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/comets.html

   A comet is made of dirty ice, dust, and gas. When a comet gets close to the Sun, part of the ice starts to melt. The solar winds then push the dust and gas released by the melting ice away from the comet. This forms the comet's tail. Every time a comet comes close to the Sun, a part of it melts. Over time, it will completely disappear.

8. StarChild: Meteoroids - NASA

   starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/meteoroids.html

   A meteoroid is a piece of stone-like or metal-like debris which travels in outer space. Most meteoroids are no bigger than a pebble. Large meteoroids are believed to come from the asteroid belt. Some of the smaller meteoroids may have come from the Moon or Mars. If a meteoroid falls into the Earth's atmosphere, it will begin to heat up and ...

9. How can we fly through the tail of a comet? - NASA

   starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question27.html

   The dust in the coma reflects sunlight, and gas in the coma absorbs ultraviolet radiation and begins to glow. The comet starts to look like a big "fuzzy ball". This coma material is then blown away from the coma by the solar wind and becomes the comet's tail. Comet tails can stream out up to 100 million km in length!

10. StarChild: The planet Venus - NASA

    starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level1/venus.html

    Venus and Earth are almost the same size. Venus is the closest planet to Earth, but it does not have oceans or human life like Earth. Venus gets so hot during the day that it could melt a lead cannonball. The temperature rises to 484 degrees Celsius on the side facing the Sun. Venus has very thick, rapidly spinning clouds which cover its surface.

11. What is a brown dwarf? - NASA

    starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question62.html

    In other words, a planet is not hot enough or heavy enough to produce its own light. Brown dwarfs are objects which have a size between that of a giant planet like Jupiter and that of a small star. In fact, most astronomers would classify any object with between 15 times the mass of Jupiter and 75 times the mass of Jupiter to be a brown dwarf.