Meteoroids and Meteorites

Meteoroids

Meteoroids are small rocky or metallic bodies travelling through outer space.
They are significantly smaller than asteroids, usually less than 1 meter in diameter.
Most meteoroids that enter the Earth’s atmosphere are so tiny that they vaporise completely and never reach the planet’s surface.
When a meteoroid, comet, or asteroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed typically in excess of 20 km/s, it starts to heat up and creates a bright trail in the sky known as a meteors or shooting stars.
Larger meteoroids that survive the hot journey through Earth’s atmosphere and reach the ground are known as meteorites.
Unlike asteroids, which contain metals, silicate rock, carbon compounds, and even organic materials, meteoroids are predominantly composed of rock and metal.

A meteorite is a fragment of rock or iron from outer space, which survives its passage through Earth’s atmosphere to impact the surface.
They tend to be much denser than rocks found on Earth and are often found to contain rare elements.
Meteorites can be classified into three categories: stony meteorites, iron meteorites, and stony-iron meteorites.
Stony meteorites are similar in composition to Earth’s crust, with small amounts of iron and nickel and are made up of the minerals olivine and pyroxene.
Iron meteorites are almost completely composed of metal, mostly a mixture of iron and nickel. They are much denser than stony meteorites and are magnetic.
Stony-iron meteorites are a mixture of metal and rock, and are the rarest type of meteorite.
The size of meteorites can vary hugely - from dust particles to bodies several kilometers in diameter.
Meteorites provide significant information about the age, composition and chemistry of the solar system.