News tagged with meteorite
NASA scientist finds 'alien life' fossils
A NASA scientist's claim that he found tiny fossils of alien life in the remnants of a meteorite has stirred both excitement and skepticism, and is being closely reviewed by 100 experts.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 06, 2011 |
4.6 / 5 (50) |
85
New Study of Meteorite Provides More Evidence for Ancient Life on Mars
(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1996, when scientists examined a meteorite from Mars previously uncovered in Antarctica, they were intrigued by what looked like microscopic fossils of ancient Martian life forms. Now, ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 17, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (47) |
20
Meteorite yields carbon crystals harder than diamond
(PhysOrg.com) -- Two new types of ultra-hard carbon crystals have been found by researchers investigating the ureilite class Haverö meteorite that crashed to Earth in Finland in 1971. Ureilite meteorites are ...
Feb 03, 2010 |
4.6 / 5 (41) |
2
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Quasicrystal is extraterrestrial in origin
A rare and exotic mineral, so unusual that it was thought impossible to exist, came to Earth on a meteorite, according to an international team of researchers led by Princeton University scientists. The discovery ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jan 13, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (37) |
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Untouched meteorite impact crater found via Google Earth
(PhysOrg.com) -- A pristine meteorite impact crater has been found in a remote area of the Sahara desert in southwest Egypt. The crater was originally noticed on Google Earth images, and is believed to be ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jul 26, 2010 |
4.6 / 5 (37) |
3
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Earth's atmosphere came from outer space, find scientists
(PhysOrg.com) -- The gases which formed the Earth's atmosphere - and probably its oceans - did not come from inside the Earth but from outer space, according to a study by University of Manchester and University ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 10, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (30) |
12
Building blocks of life created in 'Impossible' place
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA-funded scientists have discovered amino acids, a fundamental building block of life, in a meteorite where none were expected.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 16, 2010 |
4.9 / 5 (24) |
25
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Research team claims to have found evidence Lake Cheko is impact crater for Tunguska Event
(Phys.org) -- Early on the morning of June 30th, 1908, a huge explosion occurred in a remote part of Siberia near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River. So great was the blast that trees were knocked down in neat ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 21, 2012 |
4.5 / 5 (25) |
20
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Scientists say comet killed off mammoths, saber-toothed tigers
First an explosion as powerful as thousands of megatons of TNT rained meteorites down on North America. Then forest fires broke out across the continent, sending up a thick layer of soot and dust that blocked ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jan 02, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (26) |
19
Solar System older than thought
The Solar System could be nearly two million years older than thought, according to a study published on Sunday by the journal Nature Geoscience.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Aug 22, 2010 |
4.1 / 5 (26) |
25
Where does all the gold come from?
Ultra high precision analyses of some of the oldest rock samples on Earth by researchers at the University of Bristol provides clear evidence that the planet's accessible reserves of precious metals are the ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Sep 07, 2011 |
4.4 / 5 (24) |
36
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Are you a Martian? We all could be, scientists say -- and new instrument might provide proof
Are we all Martians? According to many planetary scientists, it's conceivable that all life on Earth is descended from organisms that originated on Mars and were carried here aboard meteorites. If that's the ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 23, 2011 |
3.8 / 5 (27) |
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Mars breakthrough: Scientists uncover red planet's hot and steamy secrets
(PhysOrg.com) -- An analysis of Martian meteorites has led scientists to believe that Mars was molten for up to 100 million years after it formed, thwarting the evolution of early life on the planet.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 21, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (20) |
3
Researchers make rare meteorite find using new camera network in Australian desert
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have discovered an unusual kind of meteorite in the Western Australian desert and have uncovered where in the Solar System it came from, in a very rare finding published today ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 17, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (19) |
4
Spectacular Mars images reveal evidence of ancient lakes (w/ Video)
Spectacular satellite images suggest that Mars was warm enough to sustain lakes three billion years ago, a period that was previously thought to be too cold and arid to sustain water on the surface, according ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jan 04, 2010 |
5 / 5 (18) |
5
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Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives an impact with the Earth's surface. While in space it is called a meteoroid. When it enters the atmosphere, impact pressure causes the body to heat up and emit light, thus forming a fireball, also known as a meteor or shooting star. The term bolide refers to either an extraterrestrial body that collides with the Earth, or to an exceptionally bright, fireball-like meteor regardless of whether it ultimately impacts the surface.
More generally, a meteorite on the surface of any celestial body is a natural object that has come from elsewhere in space. Meteorites have been found on the Moon and Mars.
Meteorites that are recovered after being observed as they transited the atmosphere or impacted the Earth are called falls. All other meteorites are known as finds. As of mid-2006, there are approximately 1,050 witnessed falls having specimens in the world's collections. In contrast, there are over 31,000 well-documented meteorite finds.
Meteorites have traditionally been divided into three broad categories: stony meteorites are rocks, mainly composed of silicate minerals; iron meteorites are largely composed of metallic iron-nickel; and, stony-iron meteorites contain large amounts of both metallic and rocky material. Modern classification schemes divide meteorites into groups according to their structure, chemical and isotopic composition and mineralogy. See meteorites classification.
For more information about Meteorite, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
