Meteors are bright streaks of light seen briefly in the sky, and meteorites are meteors that survive entry into the Earth's atmosphere and impact the surface. Millions of meteors enter the Earth's atmosphere daily but become visible only when friction with the atmosphere heats them, causing them to glow brightly for a short time as they streak across the sky.

1. Meteors and Meteorites By Jared January, 2010

2. A meteor is bright streaks of light that appear for a very short time in the sky.

3. A meteorite is a meteor that makes it to the Earth.

4. Meteorites make craters.

5. Millions of meteors occur in the Earth’s atmosphere every day.

6. Meteors become visible when a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere.

7. We see a meteor when it enters the Earth’s atmosphere and air rubs against the meteor which heats it and it leaves a shining trail and glows for a second.

8. Sometimes people call meteors and meteorites fireballs.