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  3. Meteor
Planetary Science

Meteor

Definition

The streak of light when space debris burns up in Earth's atmosphere. Called a shooting star, it becomes visible at heights of 80-120 km. If the object survives and reaches the ground, it is called a meteorite.

Related Terms

Meteoroid

A small rocky or metallic body in space, from grain-of-sand to one-meter size. When entering Earth's atmosphere, it crea...

Meteorite

A solid piece of debris from a meteoroid or asteroid that survives passage through Earth's atmosphere. Classified as sto...

Asteroid

A small rocky body orbiting the Sun, primarily found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids range from...

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Dive deeper into meteor and related concepts on Cosmos Observatory.

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Full Glossary

Browse all 66+ space and astronomy terms.

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