What specific characteristic distinguishes a fireball or bolide from a regular, faint shooting star?

Answer

It can be astonishingly bright, sometimes outshining Venus or the full moon

Fireballs or bolides result from larger objects colliding with the atmosphere at high speed, generating immense heat and light capable of briefly surpassing the brightness of major celestial bodies like Venus or the moon.

What specific characteristic distinguishes a fireball or bolide from a regular, faint shooting star?

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