A
shooting star is in fact a meteoroid! We can visibly see
it from Earth when it enters the atmosphere to become a
meteor.
If any part of the meteoroid survives burning up
and actually hits the Earth, that remaining bit is then
called a meteorite.
At certain times of year, you are likely to see a
great number of meteors in the night sky. These events
are called
meteor showers and they occur when the Earth passes
through the trail of debris left by a comet as it orbits
the Sun. Shooting stars
are beautiful to watch, but remember they are
meteoroids!
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