A meteorite is a rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with the atmospheric gases cause it to heat up and radiate energy.

Jan 18, 2025 · meteorite, any fairly small natural object from interplanetary space—i.e., a meteoroid—that survives its passage through Earth’s atmosphere and lands on the surface. In modern usage the term is broadly applied to similar objects that land on the surface of other comparatively large bodies.

Feb 14, 2025 · Meteorites When a meteoroid survives a trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it’s called a meteorite. Alex Meshik and Morgan Nunn Martinez collect a meteorite in Antarctica's Miller Range during the 2013-2014 ANSMET field season.

Feb 14, 2025 · When a meteoroid survives its trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it’s called a meteorite. Meteorites typically range between the size of a pebble and a fist. Meteoroids are space rocks that range in size from dust grains to small asteroids.

Apr 4, 2024 · More than 60,000 meteorites have been found on Earth. Scientists have divided these meteorites into three main types: stony, iron, and stony-iron. Each of these types has many sub-groups. Stony Meteorites. Stony meteorites are made up of minerals that contain silicates —material made of silicon and oxygen.

Identification of a genuine meteorite takes a practiced eye, but there are a number of simple tests that can help hopeful rock hounds determine if they have stumbled across a rare space rock, or just a common earthbound stone. Meteorites tend to look different from the ordinary terrestrial rocks around them.

There are several different types of meteorites! Learn about them in this article by Geoffrey Notkin, meteorite hunter.

Learn more about meteorite locations, and where meteorites are found, here! How do we know whether a meteorite is a new, distinct meteorite or part of an older find? Detailed microscopic, chemical and mineralogical analyses are required to uniquely identify and classify a meteorite.

A meteorite is a meteoroid that survives the fiery passage through the atmosphere and crashes to Earth. Like rocks, meteorites are made up of minerals. Some of the minerals are the same ones seen in Earth rocks, but others are not found on Earth at all.

Dec 5, 2018 · A meteorite is the term given to a piece of a comet or asteroid that falls into the Earth’s atmosphere and survives to hit the surface. These objects come in three easy-to-remember categories ...