Fireball is a meteor that burns brightly as it plunges through Earth’s atmosphere. If the fireball explodes at the end of its path, it is generally called a bolide. Some pieces may survive the explosion and fall to the earth. Only brightness makes a fireball different from an ordinary meteor. A fireball is as bright as Jupiter or Venus. In rare cases, it may be as bright as a full moon. A sound like thunder occasionally accompanies the passage of a fireball.
