A meteor doesn't actually shine like a star. The brilliance of a meteor comes from the heat generated by friction as it speeds through the Earth's atmosphere.

Here's a breakdown:

* Meteors are small pieces of debris (mostly from comets or asteroids) that enter the Earth's atmosphere at high speeds.

* As they travel through the atmosphere, they collide with air molecules. This rapid collision creates intense friction, causing the meteor to heat up significantly.

* The heat causes the meteor's outer layer to vaporize and create a glowing trail of hot gas.

* This glowing trail is what we see as a "shooting star".

Stars, on the other hand, emit their own light due to nuclear fusion reactions happening within their core. They are massive celestial bodies, much larger and hotter than meteors.

So, while both stars and meteors appear as bright points of light in the night sky, their sources of light are vastly different.