A meteorite is bits of the outer space that enter the earth surface surviving the impact. They are chunks and are no bigger than particles of dust and sand. When in the outer space they are known as meteoroids but once when they enter the earth surface they are called meteors. A meteor is a bright streak of light in the sky, popularly known as the shooting star or falling star, which is produced by the entry of a small meteoroid into the Earth's atmosphere. Explore some of the interesting and fun facts about meteorites.
Interesting & Fun Facts on Meteorites
- Meteoroids move very fast. Some enter the Earth's atmosphere at as much as 130,000 miles per hour.
- Meteorites contain the oldest known rocks in our solar system. They also contain 'pre-solar grains', which are minerals that formed around other stars probably billions of years before our solar system was born.
- Up to 4 billion meteoroids fall to Earth everyday. But most of them are too tiny to do any noticeable harm.
- In 2004, a 30-foot-wide meteoroid hit the atmosphere over Antarctica, leaving 2 million pounds of dust in its wake. That was enough to seed rain clouds and affect climate all the way on the other side of the planet.
- More than 24,000 meteorites are known to have landed on Earth, but only 34 are believed to have originated on Mars.
- Meteorites are named for the locale, region, or nearby town in which the "fall" occurred.
- Although the fusion crust may be warm or hot immediately after impact, the inside of the meteorite is still deep frozen from eons in cold space.
- For years, the standard price for meteoritic material was $1/lb. Now, many meteorites are worth as much as gold!
- Meteorites have been used by unsuspecting finders as blacksmith anvils, dog bowls, or to prop up machinery or autos.
- Meteorites often contain minerals not found on Earth.
- Meteorite falls often knock out power and anything electrical in the area. This may be due to the EMP, or electromagnetic pulse, of the fast-moving meteor.
- Meteorites have been found on the Moon and Mars.
- They are called meteoroids when they are in space. When they 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.
- Meteorites that are recovered after being observed as they transited the atmosphere or impacted the Earth are called falls. The 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 are broadly categorized into three types- stony, iron and stony-iron.
