Meteorites
A meteor is the name given to the light-emitting event that takes place when an alien rock burns up in Earth's atmosphere. Meteorites are pieces of rock that fall to Earth in the aftermath of a meteor... that is, if any pieces survive.
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Meteorites allow mankind to study pieces of other worlds. They are samples of distant objects from all over our solar system. Most come from asteroids. However, some come from other planets, our moon, and even proto-planets that no longer exist because they were destroyed in the early history of our Solar System.
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Since they are made of rock types that did not form on Earth, the geological processes that created meteorites are often different than those we know about from studying terrestrial geology. The details of how the components of some of these rocks formed is still a mystery to scientists.
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Most meteorites contain various proportions of metallic iron and stony material. Click on one of the three catagories below to learn more.
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Chondrites are made of a primitive rock type that only formed during a brief period of time in the early solar system.
Achondrites are made of rock types that have been differentiated on large parent bodies.
Iron meteorites are rocks that are made almost entirely of nickel iron metal.