For the serious recording observer, perhaps pencil and paper or a dictation recorder of some type, a star chart and in all cases a red flashlight. Meteors enter the upper atmosphere at 7 to 45 miles per second. Most meteors occur at 50 - 75 miles high. Meteors usually last no more than a few tenths of a second. Meteors, sometimes refered to as shooting stars or falling stars, are the brief streak of light seen by the observer.
Meteoroids are the particles which can and do fall through the atmosphere.
Meteoroids are smaller than asteroids but there is no clearly defined boundary between large meteoroids and small asteroids. Meteorites are the meteoroids after they have reached the surface of the earth. Most are low density dust particles which originate from comets. Their density is similar to instant coffee granules. Some are more dense and are more like a rock or rock and metal.