Articles explain how the terms asteroid, comet, meteor, and meteorite refer to different stages of the same basic process as space rocks enter Earth’s atmosphere. The materials begin in space as either an asteroid or a comet, then transform when they encounter Earth’s atmosphere and heat up. As they burn and produce a visible streak, observers are seeing a “meteor” (often called a shooting star). If any of the original material survives the trip through the atmosphere and lands on the ground, it becomes a “meteorite.” The guidance focuses on identification by combining what observers can see—such as whether there is a bright, short-lived streak, and whether fragments reach the surface—with scientific context about what kinds of bodies typically produce different appearances. The sources emphasize that proper classification depends on separating the object’s origin in space (asteroid or comet) from what happens during atmospheric entry (meteor) and the aftermath if material lands (meteorite).