What IS a meteorite??
Simply put, a meteorite is a rock from space. These rocks can originate from the moon, Mars, or other bodies in our celestial neighborhood. They come in many different types: ones that are made mostly of stone, some mixed with various percentages of metal and stone and those that are nearly completely metallic. They can be extremely old, even older than the earth and some contain grains of pre-solar martial (YES OLDER THAN OUR SUN). Just recently one meteorite called Murchison, which fell in Australia in 1969, was found to contain grains that are 7 BILLION years old!!
Many years ago meteorites were also known as "aerolites". The word "aerolite" is French, meaning "rock from the air." This word has generally fallen out of favor and we now use "meteorite", which is rooted in the Greek word "meteĊra" meaning "the celestial phenomena, things in heaven above," and "-ite" is added meaning "connected with or belonging to."
Visit Mile High Meteorites for more meteorite-related stuff!
Simply put, a meteorite is a rock from space. These rocks can originate from the moon, Mars, or other bodies in our celestial neighborhood. They come in many different types: ones that are made mostly of stone, some mixed with various percentages of metal and stone and those that are nearly completely metallic. They can be extremely old, even older than the earth and some contain grains of pre-solar martial (YES OLDER THAN OUR SUN). Just recently one meteorite called Murchison, which fell in Australia in 1969, was found to contain grains that are 7 BILLION years old!!
Many years ago meteorites were also known as "aerolites". The word "aerolite" is French, meaning "rock from the air." This word has generally fallen out of favor and we now use "meteorite", which is rooted in the Greek word "meteĊra" meaning "the celestial phenomena, things in heaven above," and "-ite" is added meaning "connected with or belonging to."
Visit Mile High Meteorites for more meteorite-related stuff!
Stone meteorite called Nakhon Pathom from Thailand
Stone and iron mix meteorite called a pallasite from Fukang, China
A meteorite composed of iron found near Glorieta, New Mexico
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