What is the difference between Asteroid and Meteor?

Astronomy is a complex field, for space as a number of different elements and layers to it. Asteroids and Meteors are two elements of space. The word asteroid means star, but it is not a star. Instead, it is a planet that is minor. Meteors are stars that fall from the sky.

To the human eye, they are seen as a line of light in the sky. Another difference between them comes to names. Asteroids are named by the person who discovered the asteroid, while meteors are not named. Along with that, they vary in size. Asteroids can be anywhere from 1 to 100km, while meteors are less than that size.

An asteroid is a reasonably active rocky body orbiting the sun. At the same time, a meteor is a light phenomenon that occurs when a particle from a comet or asteroid penetrates the earth’s atmosphere and evaporates. It is often also recognized as a shooting star. It is said that asteroids pass close to earth while there is evidence that some hit earth after passing through the atmosphere.

Most asteroids are comprised of solid material, while others are created from metals such as nickel and iron. Meteors exhibit a significant dissimilarity in their path compared to asteroids. They involve several atmospheric phenomena, including halos, rainbows, bolides, and shooting stars. Meteors are connected to superstitious beliefs, such as a person observing ten shooting stars on a clear night. Scientists describe these incidents only when they have the testimony of witnessing a falling star, fireballs, or a shooting star.

An asteroid is a body that looks relatively small, rocky, and inactive, that orbits the sun. Meanwhile, a meteor refers to a light phenomenon that occurs when a particle from a meteorite (asteroid) or comet gets its way into the earth's atmosphere and then vaporizes. It is frequently also referred to as a shooting star.

The Greeks do make use of the term "meteor" to describe several atmospheric phenomena such as halos, bolides, shooting stars, rainbows, etc., whereas modern scientists refer to the term "meteor" as luminous trails, such as shooting stars, fireballs, falling stars, etc. In the olden days, they used to connect meteors to superstitious beliefs.

Scientists consider asteroids as remnants from the previous processes that brought about the formation of the earth's solar system and claimed they are usually over 3 billion years. Most asteroids are made up of pure rocky materials, whereas some contain metals such as iron and nickel.