 FACT: A small piece or rock or metal drifting through space is  called a meteoroid. A meteoroid that enters Earths atmosphere and  burns up is called a meteor; the terms "meteor" and "shooting star"  are one and the same. Most meteors are tiny, not much larger than a  grain of sand. A meteor that does not burn up all the way and hits  the Earth is called a meteorite. An object five miles wide would  never be referred to as a "meteor", especially by astrophysicists.  It would still be called an asteroid.