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A meteorite is a portion of a meteoroid or asteroid that survives its passage through the atmosphere and hits the ground without being destroyed. [22] Meteorites are sometimes, but not always, found in association with hypervelocity impact craters; during energetic collisions, the entire impactor may be vaporized, leaving no meteorites.
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. [2] Meteorites that are recovered after being observed as they transit the atmosphere and impact Earth are called meteorite falls.
Meteoritics [note 1] is the science that deals with meteors, meteorites, and meteoroids. [note 2] [2] [3] It is closely connected to cosmochemistry, mineralogy and geochemistry. A specialist who studies meteoritics is known as a meteoriticist. [4]
These features were caused by the collision of meteors (consisting of large fragments of asteroids) or comets (consisting of ice, dust particles and rocky fragments) with the Earth. For eroded or buried craters, the stated diameter typically refers to the best available estimate of the original rim diameter, and may not correspond to present ...
[103] [104] The Chelyabinsk meteor was estimated to have caused over $30 million in damage. [105] [106] It is the largest recorded object to have encountered the Earth since the 1908 Tunguska event. [107] [108] The meteor is estimated to have an initial diameter of 17–20 metres and a mass of roughly 10,000 tonnes. On 16 October 2013, a team ...
Fossil meteorite – a meteorite that was buried under layers of sediment before the start of the Quaternary period. Some or all of the original cosmic material has been replaced by diagenetic minerals. [3]: 320 (It is, however, not a fossil). Fusion crust – a coating on meteorites that forms during their passage through the atmosphere.
The first meteor shower of the New Year also has the potential to be one of the year's best – if the weather cooperates.. But astronomers lament that the Quadrantid meteors tend to fall short of ...
This is a list of largest meteorites on Earth. Size can be assessed by the largest fragment of a given meteorite or the total amount of material coming from the same meteorite fall: often a single meteoroid during atmospheric entry tends to fragment into more pieces. The table lists the largest meteorites found on the Earth's surface.