A meteor is a meteoroid that has entered the Earth's atmosphere, usually making a fiery trail as it falls. It is sometimes called a shooting star or a falling star (but it is not a star). The friction between the fast-moving meteor and the gas in the Earth's atmosphere causes intense heat; the meteor glows with heat and then burns. Most meteors burn up before hitting the Earth. A fireball is any meteor that is brighter than Venus (magnitude -4). A meteor shower is a phenomenon in which many meteors fall through the atmosphere in a relatively short time and in approximately parallel trajectories. A very intense meteor shower is called a meteor storm.

A meteorite is a meteor that has fallen to the surface of the Earth. These rare objects have survived a fiery fall through the Earth's atmosphere and have lost most of their mass during the trip. Meteorites are made of rock and/or metals.

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