Why do Meteors sometimes crash into the Earth?

Credit: astro.lu.se

It is called a meteor  or a shooting star if a lump of  rock or metal burns up before it reaches the ground. It is a meteorite if a large meteor that does not burn up as it plunges through the Earth's atmosphere. As it hits the ground, it travels so fast and shatters into pieces. It causes huge shock waves as it lands. The impact crater in the picture above is to be found at Wolf Creek, Australia, and was caused by a huge meteorite or small asteroid. The amount of energy released would be equivalent to hundreds of nuclear weapons.

Credit:ircamera.as.arizona.edu

The asteroid belt lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It is thought that this maybe the shattered remains of a planet that has been destroyed by Jupiter's enormous gravity.