A meteor is a flash of light that we see in the night sky when a small chunk of interplanetary debris burns up when it passes through our atmosphere. Meteor is the flash of light that is an effect of the debris, not the debris itself. The debris is called a meteoroid. It is a piece of interplanetary matter usually so small that, if it enters the earths atmosphere it vaporizes completely and doesn't reach the planet's surface. If any part of a meteoroid survives the fall through the atmosphere and
lands on Earth, it is called a meteorite. the size of a meteorite can range from the size of a pebble to about 220 pounds or more.
