Meteoroid

A small natural solid object moving through interplanetary space, smaller than an asteroid and larger than microscopic dust. When it enters an atmosphere, its visible light is a meteor; any surviving fragment reaching the ground is a meteorite.

Meteoroid stream: A collection of meteoroids traveling in similar orbits, often spread along a comet’s path. Streams supply many of the particles that produce recurring meteor showers.
Solar System: The Sun and the objects gravitationally bound to it, including planets, smaller bodies, and dust. Meteoroids occupy the interplanetary space within this larger system.
Asteroid collision: A collision between asteroids or other small Solar System bodies that can fracture and eject rocky debris. Collisions are a major source of rocky meteoroids.
Meteor spectroscopy: The study of a meteor’s emitted light spectrum to identify elements and physical conditions. Spectra can reveal the composition of meteoroid material as it vaporizes.
Meteor shower: A recurring increase in meteors when Earth passes through a stream of interplanetary debris. Earth’s passage through a meteoroid stream produces a shower from a common radiant.
Atmospheric entry: The passage of an object from space into a planetary atmosphere at high speed. Entry compresses and heats surrounding gas, creating the conditions for a meteor’s glow.
Asteroid: A small rocky or metallic body orbiting the Sun, generally larger than a meteoroid. Asteroids occupy the larger-body category from which some meteoroids originate.
Cometary debris: Dust and small solid fragments released from a comet as it sheds material near the Sun. This debris can remain in orbit and later encounter a planet.
Fireball network: A coordinated set of cameras that records bright meteors to reconstruct their paths and possible meteorite falls. Multiple observations can recover the incoming meteoroid’s trajectory and orbit.
Impact cratering: The formation of a depression when an impactor strikes a planetary surface at high speed. Meteoroids that reach the surface can create small impact craters.

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