Difference Between a Meteor and a Meteorite

There are a lot of objects flying in space. If you’re a space buff, meteorite and meteoroid are a few names used to describe small meteors and asteroid fragments. There’s one kind of meteor that you can’t really see from Earth.

There is a difference between a meteor and a meteorite. Fireballs or shooting stars are called meteors when they enter Earth’s atmosphere at high speed. A meteoroid is a meteorite that hits the ground after a trip through the atmosphere.

What is Meteor?

A shooting star, also known as a falling star, is the visible passage of a glowing meteoroid, comet, or asteroid through Earth’s atmosphere after being heated to incandescence by colliding with air molecules. Meteors occur in the mesosphere at altitudes from 76 to 100 km (250,000 to 320,000 ft) and can be seen a few thousand feet from the Earth.

When a meteorite hits the earth’s atmosphere it looks like a fireball. The shooting stars are meteors. The types of meteors are dependent on their size and brightness.

The sky seems to fill with fireworks when there is a meteor shower. There is a point that can be seen clearly during a shower. This is the place where the meteorites come from.

The constellation is where the meteor shower is named. The shower is named after a constellation and is known for its number of shooting stars. The shower appears to be coming from the constellation, but it is actually coming from a comet.

What are Meteorites?

There is a small piece of rock that comes off the asteroids when they hit each other. It is known as a meteorite after the collision of two asteroids. The asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter is believed to have been the source of meteorites. There are meteorites that come in all sizes. They can not be bigger than a gram or a ton.

A piece of a meteorite that makes its way through the atmosphere and makes its way to the ground without being destroyed is called a meteorite.

Sometimes meteorites are found in the same crater as hypervelocity impact craters. No meteorites will be left when the impactor is destroyed during an energetic collision. The term “bolide” is used by scientists differently to indicate a giant impactor.

Difference between a Meteor and a Meteorite

 There is some difference between a meteor and a meteorite.

Meteor	Meteorites
A shooting star is a meteor that enters the Earth’s atmosphere vaporizes.	A meteorite is a fragment of rock or iron from outer space that makes its way through the atmosphere and onto the surface of the Earth.
The size of the meteor is very small(millimeters).	The size of meteorites ranges from few grams to 100kgs.
It is believed that meteorites are part of the Solar System.	Meteorite originates from outer space.
The meteors consist on burning rocks.	A combination of metal, magnetic elements, and nickel is found in meteorites.