Did you know that the same object can become a meteor, a meteorite, and a meteoroid during its lifespan?  How is that possible, and what is the difference between meteors, meteorites, and meteoroids?

Let’s start with the basics:  An object that is flying through outer space, is smaller then an asteroid, and is not a comet is called a meteoroid. In other words, objects that are too small and insignificant to be considered an asteroid or a comet are classified as meteoroids.  Here is a quick explanation of the difference between comets and asteroids:

A Meteor Shower - Note the Many Meteors

Comets are icy objects that typically follow an orbit and glow when passing near the sun or another star.  They generally range in diameter from a hundreds of meters to several kilometers in diameter.  Larger objects that don’t display the properties of a comet are called asteroids instead.

A meteor is a meteoroid that is passing through the Earth’s atmosphere.  In other words, the time during which you can see a meteoroid glowing and streaking through the night sky is the time that it would be considered a meteor.  Meteors are also commonly called shooting stars or falling stars.  When several meteoroids are passing through the Earth’s atmosphere, it is called a meteor shower.

Once a meteor has finished passing through the atmosphere and has struck the Earth’s surface, it is considered a meteorite.

A Meteorite

So, the life of a meteoroid would go something like this:

Meteoroid > Meteor > Meteorite

Hopefully, that helped clarify these classifications for you!

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