What is the difference between a meteor, a meteorite, and a meteor shower?

What is the difference between a meteor, a meteorite, and a meteor shower?

• A. Meteor is a streak of light from a space rock burning in the atmosphere; a meteorite is a rock that lands on Earth; a meteor shower is many meteors from the same radiant in a short time.
• B. Meteor and meteorite mean the same thing.
• C. Meteor is a rock in space; meteorite is a light streak in the atmosphere.
• D. Meteor shower is a single bright event.

Answer: (A)

A meteor is the bright streak you see when a space rock or debris enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up from friction. If any piece survives the journey and lands on the ground, that rock is called a meteorite. A meteor shower, on the other hand, is not a single event but a period when many meteors appear in the sky over a short time, all seeming to come from the same point in the sky (a radiant) because Earth is passing through a debris stream left by a comet. The statement matches these definitions: a meteor is the light streak in the atmosphere, a meteorite is rock that lands, and a meteor shower is many meteors from the same radiant in a short time. The other ideas mix up the concepts or describe something that isn’t accurate—for example, a meteor is not a rock in space, and a meteor shower isn’t a single bright event.

A meteor is the bright streak you see when a space rock or debris enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up from friction. If any piece survives the journey and lands on the ground, that rock is called a meteorite. A meteor shower, on the other hand, is not a single event but a period when many meteors appear in the sky over a short time, all seeming to come from the same point in the sky (a radiant) because Earth is passing through a debris stream left by a comet.

The statement matches these definitions: a meteor is the light streak in the atmosphere, a meteorite is rock that lands, and a meteor shower is many meteors from the same radiant in a short time. The other ideas mix up the concepts or describe something that isn’t accurate—for example, a meteor is not a rock in space, and a meteor shower isn’t a single bright event.