Ricky Agner, Jr., age 8, of High Point, N.C., for his question:

WHAT HAPPENS TO A FALLING STAR?

Some people call them falling stars or shooting stars, but the correct name for the bright streak of light seen briefly in the sky is meteor.

Meteors happen when chunks of metallic or stony matter ca.led meteoroids enter the earth's atmosphere from space. Friction with the air makes the meteoroid so hot it glows and creates a tail of hot, glowing gases. Meteoroids that reach the earth's surface before burning up are called meteorites.

Scientists say that as many as 200 million visible meteors happen in the earth's atmosphere every day. We see some of them when they are about 65 miles above the earth as air friction heats them and the air around them to about 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit and they burn out at altitudes between 30 to 50 miles.