<P> When a meteoroid , comet , or asteroid enters Earth 's atmosphere at a speed typically in excess of 20 km / s ( 72,000 km / h ; 45,000 mph ) , aerodynamic heating of that object produces a streak of light , both from the glowing object and the trail of glowing particles that it leaves in its wake . This phenomenon is called a meteor or `` shooting star '' . A series of many meteors appearing seconds or minutes apart and appearing to originate from the same fixed point in the sky is called a meteor shower . If that object withstands ablation from its passage through the atmosphere as a meteor and impacts with the ground , it is then called a meteorite . </P>
<P> When a meteoroid , comet , or asteroid enters Earth 's atmosphere at a speed typically in excess of 20 km / s ( 72,000 km / h ; 45,000 mph ) , aerodynamic heating of that object produces a streak of light , both from the glowing object and the trail of glowing particles that it leaves in its wake . This phenomenon is called a meteor or `` shooting star '' . A series of many meteors appearing seconds or minutes apart and appearing to originate from the same fixed point in the sky is called a meteor shower . If that object withstands ablation from its passage through the atmosphere as a meteor and impacts with the ground , it is then called a meteorite . </P>
which is a bright streak of light in earth 's atmosphere
which is a bright streak of light in earth 's atmosphere
a meteor or `` shooting star ''
a meteor or `` shooting star ''