What Is the Difference Between a Meteoroid and a Meteor?

Imagine you're playing with a toy car. A meteoroid is like the toy car still in your hand, it's just hanging out in space, not moving yet. When you roll it across the floor, that’s like a meteor: it’s zooming through the air, visible to everyone watching from below. So, the difference between a meteoroid and a meteor is simple: one is still in space, and the other is lighting up the sky as it falls.

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Imagine a rock in space: that's a meteoroid. When it falls through Earth’s air and lights up the sky like a shooting star, that's a meteor.
A meteoroid is like a pebble you throw; when it becomes bright as it travels through the air, it turns into a meteor.
Meteoroids are little rocks still in space, but when they light up the sky while falling, those are meteors.

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Categories: Space · meteor· meteoroid· space objects· astronomy· celestial events