A meteor is the visible path of a meteoroid that enters the Earth's (or another body's) atmosphere, commonly called a shooting star. The visibility is due to the heat produced by the atmospheric entry. A very bright meteor, brighter than the apparent magnitude of Venus, may be called a fireball or bolide.

If a meteoroid survives its transit of the atmosphere to come to rest on the surface, the resulting object is called a meteorite. A meteor striking the Earth or other object may produce an impact crater.

Molten terrestrial material 'splashed' from such a crater can cool and solidify into an object known as a tektite

See also

Crater, Meteor shower,meteoroid, meteorite, tektite, Meteor (rocket)

Disambiguation

• Town of Meteor, Wisconsin
• Meteor Mobile Communications, Ireland
• MBDA Meteor is a next generation beyond visual range air-to-air missile
• Meteor is the name of a hydrofoil watercraft
• Meteor is the name of a Science Fiction film.
• Gloster Meteor, the RAF's first operational jet fighter
• A meteor is a juggling prop similar to poi balls, in that it is twirled at the end of a cord or cable.
• In martial arts, a meteor refers to a striking weapon resembling a Track and Field hammer consisting of a weight swung at the end of a cable or chain.
• In botany, a shooting star is a member of the genus Dodecatheon, which has flowers with stamens thrust out, and the sepals bent back.