Here's a breakdown:
* Meteors are the streaks of light we see in the sky, often called "shooting stars." They are caused by small particles of dust and rock, called meteoroids, entering the Earth's atmosphere at high speeds.
* Meteoroids are tiny pieces of debris leftover from the formation of the solar system or from the break-up of comets and asteroids. They can range in size from a grain of sand to a boulder.
* When a meteoroid enters the atmosphere, it encounters friction with the air molecules. This friction causes the meteoroid to heat up and glow brightly, creating the streak of light we see.
So, the small particles that produce a streak of light are the meteoroids, and the streak of light itself is the meteor.
