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Short answer

It is the same kind of space rock, named by where it is. In space it is a meteoroid. Burning up in the atmosphere as a streak of light it is a meteor ("shooting star"). If a piece survives and lands, it is a meteorite. [S1][S2]

Key points

• Meteoroids range from dust grains to small asteroids. [S1][S2]
• When many meteors appear, it is a meteor shower. [S1][S2]
• Meteorites are typically between pebble and fist size. [S2]
• About 48.5 tons of meteoritic material falls on Earth each day; nearly all vaporizes in the atmosphere. [S1]

Claims

• id: C1 claim: Meteoroids range from dust grains to small asteroids. source: S1 evidence: "Meteoroids range in size from dust grains to small asteroids."
• id: C2 claim: A meteoroid that survives and hits the ground is called a meteorite. source: S2 evidence: "When a meteoroid survives its trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground"
• id: C3 claim: Meteorites typically range between pebble and fist size. source: S2 evidence: "Meteorites typically range between the size of a pebble and a fist."
• id: C4 claim: About 48.5 tons of meteoritic material falls on Earth each day. source: S1 evidence: "of meteoritic material falls on Earth each day"

Sources

• [S1] Meteors and Meteorites. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/ . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-04.
• [S2] Meteors and Meteorites: Facts. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/facts/ . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-04.

License: this note is CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted).

@misc{iil_note_ep4ttye8,
  author = {{iinventedlight}},
  title = {{Meteoroid, meteor, meteorite: what is the difference?}},
  howpublished = {iinventedlight Library},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-11-04},
  url = {https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/meteors-and-meteorites/},
  note = {Permanent ID iil:note:ep4ttye8. License: CC-BY-4.0.},
}

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