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Why can't you see meteors from the moon and why can you see comets?

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The standard answer on Earth is that meteors are seen only when meteoroids enter the Earth's atmosphere and heat it to incandescence, while comets are bodies in interplanetary space, visible from anywhere in the solar system. On the Moon, there is no significant atmosphere, so there are no meteors as such. However, meteors have been observed (from Earth) on several occasions impacting the surface of the Moon, so in fact meteors have been seen on the Moon.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast30nov_1/

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The Moon has no atmosphere, so meteors would not heat up and glow as they descended, as they do on Earth. Comets, however, reflect light from the Sun, and thus can be seen from any sufficiently dark location.

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This answer is incomplete -- see my answer. Please don't decide "Best Answer" when only one answer has been posted. – Geoff Gaherty Jun 12 '11 at 13:59
I answered the question as stated. He asked why you can't see them from the Moon, not on the Moon. And technically, if you're observing the impact, then it's the meteorite you're seeing anyway, not the meteor. – Andrew Jun 12 '11 at 17:17

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