Meteoroids that passes through Earth's atmosphere and do not completely burn up.

When meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere (or that of another planet, like Mars) at high speed and burn up, the fireballs or “shooting stars” are called meteors. When a meteoroid survives a trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it's called a meteorite. Most (between 90 and 95 percent) of these meteors completely burn up in the atmosphere, resulting in a bright streak that can be seen across the night sky, Moorhead said. However, when meteors survive their high-speed plunge toward Earth and drop to the ground, they are called meteorites. Meteoroids burn up in the atmosphere and fall to the Earth as dust. Every day, approximately 3000 metric tons of dusty space material falls to Earth. A meteoroid is a piece of stony or metallic debris which travels in outer space. Meteorite. A meteoroid that survives its passage through the Earth's atmosphere and lands upon the Earth's surface.