meteor

A physical phenomenon observed in the atmosphere or on the Earth's surface, consisting of a suspension, precipitation, or deposit of liquid or solid particles, aqueous or not, as well as an optical or electrical manifestation. Taking the above into account, meteors are classified into four large groups: 1) hydrometeors (aqueous meteors); 2) lithometeors (dust meteors); 3) photometeors (atmospheric optical phenomena); and 4) electrometeors (electrical meteors). Clouds were, for a time, not considered meteors by the World Meteorological Organization, but they have now acquired that status. Since they are made up of suspended water droplets, they are classified as hydrometeors. The term "meteor" is often identified with the meteorite or meteoroid, of extraterrestrial origin, that crosses the atmosphere, leaving a luminous trace in its path. Shooting stars are the best example of this. In such cases, the meteor is only that flash of light, of an atmospheric nature, not the rocky object or cometary remnant in question. The word derives from the medieval Latin word meteorum, with its origin in the Greek term μετέωρα (meteora), plural of μετεωρος (meteoron), which refers to things or phenomena that occur above, in the sky.