Most meteor showers occur when a large asteroid falls to the earth. A meteor is an object falling into the earth s atmosphere from space. A meteorite is an object with extraterrestrial origins. A fireball is a small meteor that burns up in a continuous streak. A meteor becomes a meteorite after it hits the ground.
Most meteors burn up and are vaporized before they reach the ground.
The three types of meteorites are irons, stony-irons and stones. Most meteor showers occur when the earth passes through the debris left behind in the orbit of a comet. There have been people hit by meteorites in recorded human history. It is extremely unlikely that a meteorite of sufficient size to do extensive global damage will ever hit the earth in the future. A meteorite is a shooting star.