What is the proper term when the space object enters Earth’s atmosphere and starts burning up?
Answer
Meteor
When a meteoroid encounters Earth's atmosphere, the intense compression of air in front of it generates extreme heat due to friction and velocity. This process causes the object to ablate, or vaporize partially, creating a visible streak of light across the sky. This luminous phenomenon is precisely what is termed a meteor. It is a temporary event marking the passage through the atmospheric gauntlet, and the object is not yet considered to have reached the ground.
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