Tell-tale signs of a shooting star – Comets, meteors and craters in the Solar System | Teach with space PR04

To many ancient civilisations, the tale of a shooting star was an omen of things to come. In this series of activities, pupils will learn that a shooting star or meteor is actually a piece of rock that lights up as it travels through the Earth’s atmosphere. They will also learn why this happens and investigate how craters are formed when a meteor strikes a planetary surface. Extension activities focus on why small meteors can cause large impact craters and why we find so few craters on Earth.

Download: English and the accompanying Extension activities (PR04b), French.