meteorite
Sign in to savethumb|The , Hoba meteorite in [[Namibia is the largest known intact meteorite.]]
AI overview
A meteorite is a rock from space that has fallen to Earth's surface. They matter to scientists because studying them helps us understand the composition and history of our solar system.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
30 sectionsContents
- Fall phenomena
- Classification
- Frequency
- Chemistry
- Sources of meteorites found on Earth
- Weathering
- Fossil meteorites
- Collection
- Falls
- Finds
- Canada
- United States
- Antarctica
- Australia
- The Sahara
- Northwest Africa
- Arabian Peninsula
- In human affairs
- Ceremonial or religious use
- Historical writings
- Striking people or property
- Notable examples
- Naming
- Terrestrial
- Extraterrestrial
- Large impact craters
- Disintegrating meteoroids
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|The , Hoba meteorite in [[Namibia is the largest known intact meteorite.]]
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. It then becomes a meteor and forms a fireball, also known as a shooting star; astronomers call the brightest examples "bolides". Once it settles on the larger body's surface, the meteor becomes a meteorite. Meteorites vary greatly in size. For geologists, a bolide is a meteorite large enough to create an impact crater.