Meteorites—fragments of rock that have fallen to Earth from space in spectacularly fiery meteors—have been the subject of public fascination, awe, myths and even religious worship for thousands of years.
Astronomy
Sep 28, 2023
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An analysis of the approximately 4.6-billion-year-old meteorite Erg Chech 002, discovered in 2020 in the Erg Chech region of the Sahara Desert in Algeria, is presented in Nature Communications.
Planetary Sciences
Sep 3, 2023
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One of the U.K.'s most famous meteorites is helping scientists learn more about asteroids millions of kilometers away from Earth.
Planetary Sciences
Aug 7, 2023
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Yale researchers may have solved a longstanding puzzle as to why certain metallic meteorites show traces of a magnetic field—a finding that may shed light on the formation of magnetic dynamos at the core of planets.
Astronomy
Aug 1, 2023
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The surface of the moon tells the story of the inner solar system. Every meteorite that hits leaves its mark, and together those craters hold a record of the events that have occurred on and around the moon over the past ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 14, 2023
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Isotope ratios found in meteorites suggest that a supernova exploded nearby while the sun and solar system were still forming. But the blast wave from a supernova that close could have potentially destroyed the nascent solar ...
Astronomy
Jun 22, 2023
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Tens of thousands of asteroids—that we know of—are roaming our solar system. These are building blocks made up of metal, silicates, and ice left over from the beginning of time when the planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, ...
Astronomy
Jun 5, 2023
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Precursors of the molecules needed for the origin of life may have been generated by chemical reactions promoted by iron-rich particles from meteors or volcanic eruptions on Earth approximately 4.4 billion years ago, according ...
Astrobiology
May 25, 2023
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A metallic object that punched a hole in the roof of a central New Jersey home this week, smashing into a hardwood floor and bouncing around a bedroom, was a meteorite, experts announced Thursday.
Space Exploration
May 11, 2023
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A metallic object believed to be a meteorite punched a hole in the roof of a central New Jersey home this week, smashing into a hardwood floor and bouncing around a bedroom. The family who owns the home discovered the black, ...
Space Exploration
May 9, 2023
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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.
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