A meteorite, as a substance, is solid extraterrestrial material that has survived passage through Earth’s atmosphere and reached the surface, typically classified into stony (chondrites and achondrites), iron, and stony-iron types based on mineralogical and chemical composition. Chondritic meteorites preserve primitive nebular components such as chondrules and refractory inclusions, often with CI-like bulk solar abundances for nonvolatile elements. Iron meteorites consist predominantly of Fe-Ni alloys (kamacite and taenite) and may exhibit Widmanstätten patterns reflecting slow cooling in differentiated parent bodies. Meteorites are key samples for cosmochemistry, isotopic dating, and constraining early Solar System processes and planetary differentiation.
A mysterious extraterrestrial visitor now has a permanent home and identity, thanks to University of Georgia researchers.
Planetary Sciences
Aug 11, 2025
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Crystals and glasses have opposite heat-conduction properties, which play a pivotal role in a variety of technologies. These range from the miniaturization and efficiency of electronic devices to waste-heat recovery systems, ...
General Physics
Jul 28, 2025
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When high-velocity asteroids land on Earth, they can form a meteor impact crater. Such collisions have occurred throughout Earth's history and still occur on other planetary bodies today.
Planetary Sciences
Jul 24, 2025
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For sale: A 54-pound (25-kilogram) rock. Estimated auction price: $2 million to $4 million. Why so expensive? It's the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth.
Space Exploration
Jul 13, 2025
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A small, inconspicuous meteorite may be about to change our understanding of how and when our solar system formed. Tiny shavings from the meteorite Northwest Africa 12264 are challenging the long-held belief that planets ...
It only took Ed Albin a few steps on Sunday to spot it as he wandered onto an empty construction site in Henry County, about 45 minutes southeast of Atlanta.
Planetary Sciences
Jun 30, 2025
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The pristine samples from asteroid Ryugu returned by the Hayabusa2 mission on December 6, 2020, have been vital to improving the understanding of primitive asteroids and the formation of the solar system. The C-type asteroid ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 23, 2025
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189
Scientists and engineers at the University of Nottingham have measured the stiffness of space rock for the first time. Many meteorites are made of crystalline materials, formed under exotic conditions that cannot be replicated ...
Planetary Sciences
May 16, 2025
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37
A team of researchers at the University of Oxford have uncovered crucial evidence for the origin of water on Earth. Using a rare type of meteorite, known as an enstatite chondrite, which has a composition analogous to that ...
Astrobiology
Apr 15, 2025
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215
An asteroid struck Mars 11 million years ago and sent pieces of the red planet hurtling through space. One of these chunks of Mars eventually crashed into the Earth somewhere near Purdue University and is one of the few meteorites ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 13, 2024
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