<P> A meteor , known colloquially as a `` shooting star '' or `` falling star '' , is the visible passage of a glowing meteoroid , micrometeoroid , comet or asteroid through Earth 's atmosphere , after being heated to incandescence by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere , creating a streak of light via its rapid motion and sometimes also by shedding glowing material in its wake . Although a meteor may seem to be a few thousand feet from the Earth , meteors typically occur in the mesosphere at altitudes from 76 to 100 km ( 47 to 62 mi ) . The root word meteor comes from the Greek meteōros , meaning `` high in the air '' . </P>
in which layer of the atmosphere do meteors burn up before impacting earth
typically occur in the mesosphere at altitudes from 76 to 100 km ( 47 to 62 mi )