Final answer:
Meteorites are rock or debris that land on Earth, while meteors are the flashes of light caused when meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere. Meteors usually come from comets or asteroid fragments, while meteorites originate from various sources such as asteroids or other celestial bodies.
Step-by-step explanation:
Meteorites and meteors are both related to space rocks entering the Earth's atmosphere, but they have some key differences. A meteor is the flash of light that we see when a small piece of interplanetary debris (or meteoroid) burns up upon entering the Earth's atmosphere. On the other hand, a meteorite is the actual rock or debris that survives the journey through the atmosphere and lands on the surface of the Earth.
The probable origin of meteors is typically comets or asteroid fragments. Comets are icy bodies that originate from the outer regions of our solar system, and when they get close to the Sun, the heat causes the ice to vaporize, releasing dust particles that create a trail. When the Earth passes through this trail, the dust particles enter the atmosphere, creating meteor showers. Meteorites, on the other hand, have various origins. Most meteorites come from asteroids, which are rocky bodies that orbit the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Some meteorites are also believed to come from the Moon or Mars, having been ejected from these bodies due to impact events.