Perhaps the most famous is the Chicxulub Crater, in Yucatan, Mexico. Most meteors (90-95%) dont survive the trip through the atmosphere, and those that do often fall unnoticed in remote areas or into oceans. The lattice-like structure is known as a Widmansttten Pattern after Count Alois von Beckh Widmansttten who described the phenomenon in the early 1800s. What is a meteorite? Meteor showers are usually named after a star or constellation that is close to where the meteors appear to originate in the sky. Receive email updates about our news, science, exhibitions, events, products, services and fundraising activities. In 2014, Opportunitys sister spacecraft, Curiosity, discovered a meteorite that was 2 meters (7 feet) wide, making it the largest yet discovered on Mars. are known as "chondrites.". Click to enlarge. specimen does contain. The CV group is named after a meteorite that crashed near the city of Vigarano, Italy, in 1910. The Allende meteorite also contains micro diamonds, and is believed to pre-date the formation of our own solar system. Of these, 99.8 percent come from asteroids. Chondrites have a distinctive appearance, made from droplets of silicate minerals mixed with small grains of sulphides and iron-nickel metal. terrestrial rocks, and it can take a skilled eye to spot them when meteorite hunting This term only applies when theyre in space. Iron meteorites are 3.5 times as heavy as ordinary Earth rocks of the same size, while stony meteorites are about 1.5 times as heavy. Almost all meteorites contain The largest meteorite ever found, Namibias Hoba meteorite, is an iron meteorite. There are three main types of meteorites, each of which has a unique composition, structure, and look. "half" and "iron," and they are very rare. Rocks and minerals must be examined in person from all perspectives for accurate identification; they are extremely difficult to identify through photographs. Fusion Crust Test: Fusion crust is a thin, dark rind formed on a meteorite as it streaks through our atmosphere. Thin section pictures of some are also included. It weighs 16.5 tons (15 tonnes) and is one of the largest meteorites ever found. by studying their two component iron-nickel alloys: kamacite and taenite. // keeps multiple listeners from being added per image module Planetary achondrites are simply achondrites that come from the moon or Mars. Chondrites are the material from which the solar system formed. Meteorite Lakes. This specimen is also highly oriented, with a textbook snub-nosed leading edge (pictured) and a flat back. Other notable meteor showers include the Leonids, associated with comet Tempel-Tuttle; the Aquarids and Orionids, linked to comet Halley, and the Taurids, associated with comet Encke. up and their reaction is, almost without fail, to exclaim: "Wow, it's so heavy!". This weathered fragment was found in Chile's Atacama Desert. This year, the peak is during the overnight hours of December 13 and into the morning of December 14. (8), Stony meteorites are the most common type of meteorites. Tom Phillips Microscopic Meteorite Gallery, Meteorites How To Recognize Visitors From Space. A meteor that does this is known as a meteorite. Common Giveaways that a Rock is a Meteor-wrong: Slag- Also called cinder or runoff. You cannot download interactives. This website uses cookies - The cookie settings on this website are adjusted to allow all cookies so that you have the very best experience.. You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings. Asteroid 2018 LA entered Earths atmosphere at about 9:44 a.m. PDT (12:44 p.m. EDT, 16:44 UTC), and later disintegrated in the upper atmosphere near Botswana, Africa. An iron with very narrow bands, less than 1 mm, would This type of structure is very similar to terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars and Earth), which also have metallic cores. Browse 5,998 professional meteorite stock photos, images & pictures available royalty-free. Most meteorites found on Earth come from shattered asteroids, although some come from Mars or the Moon. The pictures in the gallery show this spectrum of possibilities. The pictures on this page are of authenticated, well-studied meteorites, presented here to show their visual diversity and are for reference only. NOTE: For the general public, we only offer non-certified, visual inspections; we do not do any formal chemical analysis, we will not give you an official document of identification, and we do not . meteorites, often selling on the collectors' market for up to $1,000 per gram, making However, if the rock you've found isn't at all close to black or brown in color, then it is not a meteorite. An iron meteorite cut and etched with acid to reveal its crystal structure. 2) Most meteorites are denser than the average Earth rock. Meteor Rain. Only 2.5% of the ~1500 stony meteorites that have been found in the U.S. are achondrites. Its about 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) across and was formed by the impact of a piece of iron-nickel metal approximately 164 feet (50 meters) in diameter. National Geographic Headquarters 1145 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20036. The first picture is magnetite, while the second group of pictures features different kinds of hematite. olivine crystals. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. That is called a meteorite, and a large one sometimes leaves a hole in the ground called a crater.. A rock that has not yet hit the atmosphere is called a "meteoroid". The Bendoc Meteorite is believed to have been discovered by gold miners in 1898 in East Gippsland. These are the most common type of stony meteorites and the most common type of meteorites on earth in general. The rocks are very much like Earth rocks with some distinctive compositions that indicate Martian origin. They come from the cores of asteroids and account for about 5 percent of meteorites on Earth. When olivine crystals are of sufficient purity, and display an We have gathered together the photographs of as many different meteorites as we could put our hands on and offer them to you here for your viewing pleasure. When I give lectures and slideshows about meteorites to rock and mineral societies, A good place to start is. Lumps or fragments of man-made materials, ore rocks, slag (the byproduct of industrial processes) and the iron oxides magnetite and hematite, are also common all throughout the world and are frequently dense and . $.fancybox.update() // Gets called automatically on FF but not webkit The meteorite consits of 84% iron and 16% nickel (and a little bit cobalt). meteorite crash. 1) Most meteorites are attracted to strong magnets, though many common Earth rocks are also attracted to magnets. One face has been cut and polished to reveal a mottled black and silver interior. Despite its size, the Chicxulub Craber is famous for another reason. Geoffrey Notkin is a meteorite hunter, science writer, photographer, and musician. Some of those were also sold and two of them ended up on Ebay in the US. Meteorite Identification: The Magnet Test. A eucrite achondrite from the Millbillillie meteorite shower. They are thought to have brought volatile material to Earth when it was newly formed, helping to establish the atmosphere and other conditions required to sustain life. https://www.meteorites-for-sale.com/meteorite-identification.html, http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/255-What-is-a-shooting-star-, https://geology.com/meteorites/meteorite-identification.shtml, https://www.space.com/33695-thousands-meteorites-litter-earth-unpredictable-collisions.html, https://www.meteorite.com/meteorite-information/meteorite-facts/, https://aerolite.org/about/have-you-found-a-meteorite/, http://meteorite-identification.com/streak.html, https://meteorites.asu.edu/meteorites/meteorite-facts, (1) https://www.meteorites-for-sale.com/meteorite-identification.html, (2) http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/255-What-is-a-shooting-star-, (3) https://geology.com/meteorites/meteorite-identification.shtml, (4) https://www.space.com/33695-thousands-meteorites-litter-earth-unpredictable-collisions.html, (5) https://www.meteorite.com/meteorite-information/meteorite-facts/, (6) https://aerolite.org/about/have-you-found-a-meteorite/, (7) http://meteorite-identification.com/streak.html, (8) https://meteorites.asu.edu/meteorites/meteorite-facts, (9) https://www.meteorite.com/meteorite-information/meteorite-identification/, Copyright 2023 Clemson UniversityPublic Service and AgricultureClemson, SCContact Us, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, https://www.meteorite.com/meteorite-information/meteorite-identification/, Geology and Paleontology of South Carolina. Although the majority of meteorites that fall to Earth are stony, most of the meteorites discovered long after they fall are irons. Photo courtesy of liveauctioneers.com and TimeLine Auctions Ltd. Types of Meteorites. Warning: The Campbell Geology Museum is not a Meteorite Identification Service. Chondrites themselves are classified into two major groups: ordinary and carbonaceous. The same thing that causes meteorites to be magnetic often causes them to be heavy: their high iron content. meteorites, fewer than one hundred are mesosiderites. Only 3 or 4 were from people who claimed to have found them in North America. A natural . Contrary to what you might expect, most meteorites are not round. Slag (middle photo) is much lighter per unit volume than iron meteorites, and is frequently multicolored (blue, red and purple iridescence). Classification: ataxite iron meteorite (nickel-rich). This iron causes them to be more dense than earth rocks of the same size. A photo of the meteorite found in Arlington, Minn. recently by Bruce and Nelva Lilienthal shows the iron and nickel space rock, with a partly rusted . The Missing Meteorite. Similarly, meteorites can be much easier to spot in cold, icy deserts, such as the frozen plains of Antarctica. The various families and types of meteorites have been place in their own galleries by type. Mesosiderites can therefore both record the history of both meteorites and reveal a snapshot of the conditions required for asteroids to melt and form iron cores. End of the world. Meteorites are rocks from space that land on Earth's surface. Many people have been to the desert, or river, or perhaps even their own backyard and found a rock that is unusual. Studies of lunar and Martian meteorites complement studies of Apollo Moon rocks and the robotic exploration of Mars. 3) Stony meteorites (Chondrites and Achondrites) often have an obvious fusion crust. There are many varieties of chondrite, with differences in mineralogy relating to the type of asteroid the meteorite came from. on the surface of our planet for an extended period of time-frequently look much like They also have a rock and mineral resource list with more pictures, descriptions and maps. Because most of Antarctica is covered in ice and snow, rocky meteorites stand out like chocolate chips in a cookie. 10. Tektites are popular as "raw stones" for jewelry or as display pieces. Hoba, Largest Meteorite on Earth, Namibia, Africa. Meteorites are the last stage in the existence of these type of space rocks. STONY METEORITES Stony meteorites are meteorites made of rock, but can also contain small amounts of iron. But whats the difference between them? They can use photographic observations of meteorite falls to calculate orbits and project their paths back to the asteroid belt. Magnetic: Since most meteorites contain metallic iron, a magnet will often stick to them. Well-documented stories of meteorite-caused injury or death are rare. Do you think you have found a meteorite? When cut and polished into thin slabs, the crystals in pallasites become 2023 All rights Reserved. . While meteoroids are still in space, they are cold. earth. The fragments left of the space rock show that it was an iron meteorite. 193. Types of Meteorites. Phil Davis Meteorites are fragments of rock or iron from a meteoroid, asteroid, or possibly a comet that pass through a planet or moon's atmosphere and survive the impact on the surface (1). They are less common than chondrites. Achondrites include meteorites from asteroids, Mars and the Moon. The Hoba meteorite weighs roughly 54,000 kilograms (119,000 pounds). The absence of a fusion crust does not mean a specimen is not a meteorite. The least abundant of the three main types, the stony-irons, account for less than 2% of all known meteorites. They include meteors and fireballs (1). It is often said that when the average person imagines what a meteorite looks (Please allow time for all of the images to load, then click on the picture which most closely resembles your rock in both appearance and texture.) Scientists have divided these meteorites into three main types: stony, iron, and stony-iron. Unusual shape: iron-nickel meteorites are rarely rounded. translucent giving them a remarkable otherworldly beauty. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Small amounts of gas from an atmosphere on the parent body were trapped in the melt glass and provide compelling evidence that this and other SNC meteorites originated on Mars. Achondrites lack chondrules, originate on differentiated planetary bodies (ie planetary bodies with a distinct core and crust), such as asteroids, planets, or moons, and were reformed from molten fragments that were flung into space as the result of another collision. All are igneous rocks crystallized from magma. How Do We Know Where Meteorites Come From? The Chicxulub Crater can be identified on land, beneath dozens of meters of sediment, although about half of the feature is submerged in the Gulf of Mexico. Classification methodology has changed The L chondrite group has a low amount of iron. During their journey through the atmosphere, meteors rub against air . The remaining small fraction (0.2 percent) of meteorites is split roughly equally between meteorites from Mars and the Moon. } 9. They differ in their amount of iron-nickel metal and what they reveal about the early solar system. Elements of this image furnished by NASA. See meteorite stock video clips. This fusion crust forms as the meteorites outer surface melts while passing through the atmosphere. 2. (8, 1), Iron meteorites are the most recognizable types of meteorites even though they arent the most common. They are oval depressions found on many meteorites. Achondrites do not contain the lava droplets (chondrules) present in chondrites. Locally, hundreds of reindeer were killed, but there was no direct evidence that any person perished in the blast. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. Bands are formed by varying levels of nickel. In sandy deserts with large, open regions of sand and few rocks, dark meteorites stand out clearly. Meteorite or Meteorwrong?How can you tell if that rock you found fell from the sky? We can tell you. testing articles may only be saved for seven days. remainder comprised of nickel and trace elements. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. no extraterrestrial iron, making them much more difficult to find than most other Meteoroids are lumps of rock or iron that orbit the sun.Most meteoroids are small fragments of rock created by asteroid collisions. rocks, we usually discount anything that does not contain significant amounts of The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. Free or royalty-free photos and images. The name tektite is derived from the Greek tektos, or melted. It was a witnessed fall (1960) and is a rare type of achondritea stone meteorite which does not contain chondrules. An achondrite [1] is a stony meteorite that does not contain chondrules. almost like enamel paint. And they can study how old the meteorites are up to 4.6 billion years. There are three . Dust-sized particles called micrometeorites make up 99 percent of the approximately 50 tons of space debris that falls on the Earths surface every day. In the first known case of an extraterrestrial object to have injured a human being in the U.S., Ann Hodges of Sylacauga, Alabama, was severely bruised by a 8-pound (3.6-kilogram) stony meteorite that crashed through her roof in November 1954. NASA's Studying It. More than 1,600 people were injured in the blast, mostly due to broken glass. meteorites fired fragments into space and some of those fragments eventually fell on If you can see shiny metal flakes, you may have a meteorite. The Allan Hills 84001 meteorite from Antarctica is the oldest Martian meteorite in the Museum's collections (4.1 billion years old) and is known as the "life on Mars" meteorite. Stones are similar to rocks found on the earth in that they are composed primarily of silicate minerals, that is, compounds consisting of silicon, oxygen, and various metallic elements. Eucrites are volcanic rocks from other bodies in the solar system, and Millbillillie is one of the very few meteorites which does not contain iron-nickel. Managing Editor: Nickel Test: Run a chemical test for nickel. The Trustees of The Natural History Museum, London. * For observers in the northern hemisphere. A blinding flash, a loud sonic boom, and shattered glass everywherethis is what the people of Chelyabinsk, Russia, experienced five years ago when an asteroid exploded over their city the morning of Feb. 15, 2013. in the 19th Century. Pallasites Meteorites How To Recognize Visitors From Space. We use cookiesto give you the best online experience. The picture on the left is what people typically think of when they imagine quartz. "chondrules." There are so many different types of meteorites that it can be confusing trying to learn the differences. Sedimentary rocks underlie most of Missouri. Meteorites do contain small amounts of radioactive particles that are quickly lost, but they last such a short amount of time and are in such trace amounts that they are not dangerous. There are three main types of meteorites: iron meteorites : which are almost completely made of metal. November brings planets, an asteroid, a comet and the Leonids meteor shower. (3, 4), Are meteorites magnetic? Usually ~ 20 to 40 kilometers per second. More than 50,000 meteorites have been found on Earth. Astronomers think many pallasites are relics of an asteroids core-mantle boundary. stony-iron meteorites: which have nearly equal amounts of metal and silicate crystals. They are considered some of the most beautiful meteorites. Photo by Leigh Anne DelRay, copyright Aerolite Meteorites. It created the 180-mile-wide (300-kilometer-wide) Chicxulub Crater on the Yucatan Peninsula. The least abundant of the three main types, the stony-irons, account for less than 2% If the rock is actually a meteorite, then the answers to most of questions 1 through 5 should be Yes, and question 6 . This fine specimen is described as a complete individual, as it flew through the atmosphere in one piece, without fragmenting. Window Test: One of the last tests to perform. NASA astronomer Peter Jenniskens with a asteroid meteorite found in the Nubian Desert of northern Sudan. Some planets and moons don't have enough atmosphere to break apart meteors, resulting in large meteorites. Iron meteorites can tell us a great deal about how the metallic cores of planets formed. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. If the proportion of nickel is inside the range for meteorites, you may have a meteorite. If the inside does not have shiny metal flakes and instead is plain, you probably dont have a meteorite. or one of many terrestrial rocks known as meteor-wrongs. The extinction of most life on Earth 65 million years ago is a good example of that. They are very rare, making up about 3 percent of all known meteorites. Stony meteorites are the most common type of meteorites. A piece of a meteorite will be carried on board NASA's Mars 2020 rover mission, serving as target practice for a high-precision laser on the rover's arm. Impacts on the lunar and Martian surfaces by other Each of these types has many sub-groups. Click to enlarge. Many meteorites land on Earth every year. and stone and are divided into two groups: pallasites and mesosiderites. Meteorites from the moon tend to range from 2.9-4.5 billion years old, while those from Mars vary from 200 million to 4.5 billion years old. In theory, small pieces of Mercury or Venus could have also reached Earth, but none have been conclusively identified. About 55 miles above Earth, minuscule fireballs leave a puff of tiny particles called meteoric smoke. Irons are heavier and easier to distinguish from Earth rocks than stony meteorites. Meteorite Lakes. Sometimes, meteor dust is captured by high-altitude aircraft and analyzed in NASA laboratories. It is our fond hope that the meteorite galleries we have created will provide a rich source of information and enjoyment. There are three basic types of meteorites, the irons, stony, and the stony-irons. Treasures from outer space and the asteroid belt. Ice-blue clouds are drifting over the Arctic and that means noctilucent cloud season is here. The meteorite may be black in color but with slight variations (e.g., steely bluish black). These are volcanic rocks black matrix when cut and polished-the seemingly random mixture of inclusions leading Fell 1952 : Adzhi-Bogdo, Mongolia, H6-3 chondrite . Surface. from space which formed from igneous activity within their parent bodies where melting and Scientists can tell where meteorites originate based on several lines of evidence. Stony MeteoritesStony meteorites are made up of minerals that contain silicatesmaterial made of silicon and oxygen. This leaves a bunch of small dents in the surface of the rock, making it look like someone put . Meteorites that originate from asteroids are all ~4.5 billion years old. Social Media Lead: Prof Sara Russell is part of a mission to collect samples from the asteroid Bennu and return them to Earth in 2023. Although no one was harmed, the meteorite slammed through the trunk of a parked Chevrolet Malibu, barely missing the gas tank, before creating a small impact crater beneath the car. End of the world. Elements . Those chunks are called meteoroids. The H chondrite group has a high amount of iron. Heres a lineup of the various kinds of small bodies that orbit the Sun and sometimes impact planets and each other. There are three main groups of meteorite. be a "fine octahedrite" and those with wide bands would be called "coarse octahedrites.". Freshly fallen stones will exhibit a black fusion crust, created as the The next full Moon will be on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 1, 2020. Image type. Iron meteorites are mainly made of an iron-nickel alloy with a distinctive crystalline structure known as a Widmansttten texture. 145 Photos . The pictures in the section below will help answer the question of what do meteorites look like. There are three major types of meteorites: the "irons," the "stonys," and the stony-irons. Meteor showers appear when crumbs of dust (meteoroids) from asteroids or comets enter Earth's atmosphere at very high speeds. Often mistaken for a meteorite because of its melted look and is found everywhere. Despite its small size, this space rock is a colossal find. A meteor is what you see when a space rock falls to Earth.It is often known as a shooting star or falling star and can be a bright light in the night sky, though most are faint.A few survive long enough to hit the ground. Click to enlarge. However, other scientists think that there are very few olivine-rich meteorites in the asteroid belt, and too many pallasite meteorites for them all to have come from a core-mantle boundary. What's Up for January? 1. While most meteorites have a smooth surface with no holes, some meteorites exhibit thin flow lines or thumbprint-like features called regmaglypts. Because they were formed at the same time as the solar system, chondrites are integral to the study of the solar systems origin, age, and composition. Stone meteorite: Detail of prepared slice of the carbonaceous chondrite Allende, which was seen to fall in Chihuahua, Mexico on the night of February 8, 1969, following a massive fireball. Space rocks without chondrites are known as "achondrites." Aside from the one large rock of about 2kg, there were a few smaller bits of the meteorite found near Josua's home. like, they think of an iron. The groups indicate the meteorites quantity of iron. Mesosiderites form when debris from a collision between two asteroids is mixed together. He searched for pallasites with Steve Arnold in Kiowa County, Kansas and iron meteorites and pallasites near Glorieta, New Mexico in an episode of. Also, please include several pictures of the item(s), including a clear close up and one with a ruler for scale (see in the pictures to the left). Meteorites may resemble Earth rocks, but they usually have a burned exterior that can appear shiny. ordinary chondrites. Kameta tail. Chondrites formed from the dust and small particles that came together to form asteroids in the early solar system, more than 4.5 billion years ago. Scientists have divided these meteorites into three main types: stony, iron, and stony-iron. Quadrantid meteors January 3-4, a West Coast-favoring total lunar eclipse, and time to start watching Mars! Stony Meteorites Stony meteorites are made up of minerals that contain silicates material made of silicon and oxygen. More recently, in 2013 the world was startled by a brilliant fireball that streaked across the sky above Chelyabinsk, Russia. Download Meteorite stock photos. (8, 1), Stony-iron meteorites are the rarest of the three types of meteorites and contain an equal mixture of silicates and a nickel-iron alloy. Enjoy the many new features, the modern interface and a particularly simple operation! For comparison, the Space Shuttle used to enter the upper atmosphere at ~8 kilometers per second. Iron Meteorites by Vagn Buchwald. The meteorite was discovered on the edge of the Kalahari desert in Southern Africa and has an estimated value of 280,000. The fragments are roughly centimetre-sized and contain a mix of igneous (solidified) silicate and metal clasts (rocks made of pieces of older rocks). Heavy iron meteorites are frequently solid, dark-grey in color. The word mesosiderite is derived from the Greek for This is also when we refer to them as shooting stars. Sometimes meteors can even appear brighter than Venus -- thats when we call them fireballs. Scientists estimate that about 48.5 tons (44,000 kilograms) of meteoritic material falls on Earth each day. Tektite Value. He works regularly in television and has made documentaries for The Discovery Channel, BBC, PBS, History Channel, National Geographic, A&E, and the Travel Channel. There are two subgroups: Pallasites and Mesosiderites. Asteroids, comets, Kuiper Belt Objectsall kinds of small bodies of rock, metal and ice are in constant motion as they orbit the Sun. These rock bits rarely make their way to our atmosphere as meteors and even more rarely hit the Earths surface.Iron MeteoritesIron meteorites are mostly made of iron and nickel. Some of those rocks are thought to be meteorites. The various families and types of meteorites have been place in their own galleries by type. We may occasionally include third-party content from our corporate partners and other museums. This summer offers plenty of opportunities for skywatchers looking to observe Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and meteors--with or without a telescope. Because . 'Oumuamua, the first known interstellar object to travel through our solar system, got an unexpected boost in speed and shift in trajectory last year, a new study shows. Jun 30, 2022 - Photos showing the different types of meteorites. Heres a lineup of the various kinds of small bodies that orbit the Sun and sometimes impact planets and each other. New research shows streams of meteoroids striking the Moon infuse the thin lunar atmosphere with a short-lived water vapor. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. Their millimetre-sized granules give chondrites their name, from the Greek 'chondres' meaning sand grains. If the answers to questions 1 and 2 are No, then the rock is almost certainly Not a meteorite. Known as thermal ablation, this process can also give meteorites a roughened, smooth, or thumbprint surface. Why do these miniature worlds fascinate space explorers so much? There are two major types of stony meteorites: chondrites and achondrites. What Do Meteorites Look Like? Most meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere are so small that they vaporize and never reach the planet's surface. Do you think you have found a meteorite? Sometimes the olivine does not occur as a single crystal but as a cluster. The . Meteorites from melted asteroids are also known as differentiated meteorites, as they have experienced major chemical or physical changes, solidifying from a molten state. as they plummet, melting, through our planet's atmosphere. When properly prepared, pallasites are among the most alluring of meteorite, and are highly prized by collectors, both because of their rarity and beauty. A comet, an asteroid, a meteorite glows, enters the earth's atmosphere. Use them in commercial designs under lifetime, perpetual & worldwide rights. A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon.When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with the atmospheric gases cause it to heat up and radiate energy.