I've used the search function of this board, but I haven't been able to come up with anything conclusive. I'm currently writing an essay on meteors, and I had a few questions.

When we look at a meteoroid traveling through the Earth's atmosphere it will produce a shock wave which is generated by the extremely rapid compression of air in front of the meteoroid. This is called ram pressure, right? It heats the air which in turn heats the meteoroid as it flows around it.

How do we know it's this pressure and not friction? How can I prove that it's, what evidence or scientific models say so? Also, does anyone have a graphic availible of a meteor with some pointers on it, basically explaining the anatomy of a meteor?

Check out the Bad Astronomer's comment about it in his review (I couldn't find what I thought was a bitesize astronomy article) and his post, but here are a few other links.