meteor; shooting star; falling star
A small body from space that burns up upon entering the Earth's atmosphere, producing a streak of light. Common in both scientific and everyday contexts.
昨夜、流星を一つ見ました。
I saw a shooting star last night.
A shooting star streaked across the night sky.
流星群がピークを迎えるのは今夜です。
The meteor shower peaks tonight.
山の上では流星がよく見える。
You can see shooting stars well from up on the mountain.
It's said that if you make a wish on a shooting star, your dream will come true.
隕石 is a meteorite that actually reaches the ground, whereas 流星 is only the streak of light seen as it burns up in the atmosphere.
流星 is a meteor or shooting star, a brief streak of light in the atmosphere, while 彗星 is a comet, a body that orbits the Sun and can develop a coma or tail.
From Middle Chinese 流星 (liúxīng), literally 'flowing star'. The Japanese reading りゅうせい is the Sino-Japanese on'yomi.