A meteor is the visible phenomenon that occurs when a meteoroid—a small fragment of a comet or an asteroid—enters the Earth's atmosphere at high speed. As the meteoroid descends, it experiences intense friction with the air, causing it to heat up and produce a bright streak of light. This luminous path is what we commonly refer to as a "shooting star" or meteor.
If the meteoroid survives its passage through the atmosphere and reaches the Earth's surface, it is then classified as a meteorite. Most meteoroids are small, and while many enter the atmosphere every day, most burn up completely before reaching the ground, resulting in the brief flashes of light that we see.
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