A meteor is a “shooting star”; a bit of interplanetary ice or rock that vaporizes in Earth’s upper atmosphere as a burst of incandescent gas. A meteorite is a space rock that strikes the surface of Earth. Most meteorites are classified as stony because of their mineral composition, which may include olivine, pyroxene, serpentine, sulfates, organic compounds, iron, and nickel. See our list of this year’s meteor showers for more information.