meteor
A rock or similar object, of any size from a grain of sand to a small moon, descending into a planet's atmosphere, usually while burning up dramatically. If the object can't be identified as anything other than a trail of light in the sky, use the shooting star tag instead. See forum topic #5294.
Not to be mistaken for a comet, which never enters the Earth's atmosphere. Or a meteorite, which has landed on the planet.
