That bit of material may be no bigger than a single pea and is likely much smaller. It just gets so hot it even heats the air and makes it glow too. Meteors usually completely burn up in the air, usually at an altitude of 60 miles or so. But some are large enough to survive and strike the ground. This surviving chunk of rock is called a meteorite .
Most meteorites are of the stony type.
Stony meteorites are composed of low-density materials similar to Earth's surface rocks. Irons are most commonly found because they more obviously differ from Earthly rocks. Irons are very dense, and magnetic, and appear to have been somewhat melted by their fiery fall. Stony-iron meteorites represent a blend between the stony and iron types At certain times during the year, the number of meteors observed increases greatly, in some cases, exceeding 60 meteors per hour. These are called meteor showers.