The difference between a meteor shower and a meteorite shower

A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth’s atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller than a grain of sand, so almost all of them disintegrate and never hit the ground. Nevertheless, meteor showers often produce bright streaks in the night sky, and occasionally produce enough light to be visible in daylight.

A meteorite shower is a completely different phenomenon. It is caused when a large meteoroid or comet breaks up in the atmosphere and rains down meteorites. While this can happen during a meteor shower, it is not the same thing. Meteor showers are caused by the Earth passing through a stream of debris, while meteorite showers are caused by a large body breaking up in the atmosphere.