Meteors are also called shooting stars or falling stars. They are made of chunks of rocks. The word meteor is originated from the Greek word 'meteo¯ros', which means high in the air.

A meteor is produced by the entry of a sand sized particle called meteoroid into the Earth's atmosphere. When travelling, the meteoroid is heated by the atmospheric ram pressure, which is why it glows and creates a shining trail. Each day there are millions meteors occurring in the Earth's atmosphere, so you can observe them every night as long as the sky is dark and clear.

On the other hand, meteor shower only occur couple times a year, during which many meteors appearing seconds or minutes apart. The scene can be very impressive thats why Samuel Taylor Coleridge even wrote a poem about it.