The celestial object often referred to as a "shooting star" is actually a meteor. This term is used to describe the flash of light that occurs when a meteoroid—small pieces of space debris—enters Earth's atmosphere at high speed. As it descends, the intense friction with the atmosphere causes the meteoroid to heat up and glow, resulting in the visible streak of light. While most meteoroids burn up completely before reaching the ground, some larger pieces can survive and land as meteorites, providing valuable insights into our solar system's history.