meteoroid
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.5|A meteoroid shown entering the atmosphere, causing a visible meteor and hitting the Earth's surface, becoming a [[meteorite]]
AI overview
A meteoroid is a small piece of rock or metal traveling through space that becomes visible as a meteor when it enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up. It matters because meteoroids that survive the fall and reach Earth's surface as meteorites can help scientists understand the composition of space and the history of our solar system.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
12 sectionsContents
- Meteoroids
- Composition
- In the Solar System
- Collision with Earth's atmosphere
- Meteorites
- Impact craters
- Gallery of meteorites
- See also
- Relating to meteoroids
- Relating to meteorites
- References
- External links
thumb|upright=1.5|A meteoroid shown entering the atmosphere, causing a visible meteor and hitting the Earth's surface, becoming a [[meteorite]]
A meteoroid ( ) is a small body in outer space. Meteoroids are distinguished as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to wide. Objects smaller than meteoroids are classified as micrometeoroids or space dust. Many are fragments from comets or asteroids, whereas others are collision impact debris ejected from bodies such as the Moon or Mars.