Which term appears as a shooting star after entering Earth's atmosphere?

Which term appears as a shooting star after entering Earth's atmosphere?

• A. Meteor
• B. Meteoroid
• C. Comet
• D. Meteorite

Answer: (D)

When a small piece of space rock enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up, the bright streak you see is called a meteor. If any piece of that rock survives the trip and lands on Earth, that surviving fragment is a meteorite. The rock before it enters the atmosphere is a meteoroid. A comet is a different kind of object—usually a distant icy body with a glowing coma and tail when near the Sun. So the shooting-star appearance is described by meteor, not meteorite, which refers to the rock that makes it to the ground.

When a small piece of space rock enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up, the bright streak you see is called a meteor. If any piece of that rock survives the trip and lands on Earth, that surviving fragment is a meteorite. The rock before it enters the atmosphere is a meteoroid. A comet is a different kind of object—usually a distant icy body with a glowing coma and tail when near the Sun. So the shooting-star appearance is described by meteor, not meteorite, which refers to the rock that makes it to the ground.