The bright streak of light you're thinking of is called a meteor.

Here's a breakdown:

* Meteoroid: A small piece of rock or dust in space.

* Meteor: The bright streak of light you see when a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up due to friction.

* Meteorite: If a meteoroid is large enough to survive its fiery descent and reaches the ground, it's called a meteorite.

So, the next time you see a shooting star, remember that you're witnessing a mini-space rock burning up in our atmosphere!