Final answer:
Meteors have a dual origin, primarily coming from both asteroids and comets. A meteor shower is caused when Earth passes through cometary dust, while meteorites, which hit Earth's surface, are mostly asteroid fragments and provide an insight into early solar system history.
Step-by-step explanation:
The origin of most meteors can be attributed to both asteroids and comets. Meteors are created when fragments of interplanetary dust, often from these sources, strike Earth's atmosphere and burn up, leading to the bright streaks in the sky we observe. Meteor showers, in particular, occur when Earth passes through a stream of dust left by comets. Some cometary dust particles retain approximately the orbit of their parent comet and spread out over time, so when Earth intersects with this dust stream during its orbit, we witness increased meteor activity.
In contrast, meteorites are pieces from space, mostly asteroid fragments, that survive their journey through the atmosphere and reach Earth's surface. These meteorites can give us insights into the formation and early history of the solar system, carrying a record as far back as 4.5 billion years ago.