Meteorites have traditionally been divided into three broad categories: stony meteorites that are rocks, mainly composed of silicate minerals; iron meteorites that are largely composed of …

Oct 31, 2025 · meteorite, any fairly small natural object from interplanetary space—i.e., a meteoroid —that survives its passage through Earth’s atmosphere and lands on the surface. …

Feb 14, 2025 · When a meteoroid survives its trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it’s called a meteorite. Meteorites typically range between the size of a pebble and a fist. …

To tell if a rock is a meteorite, start by examining its physical features and characteristics. Many meteorites are magnetic due to their iron-nickel content, but there are non-magnetic …

Meteorites are divided into three basic groups: irons, stones, and stony-irons. Practically all meteorites contain a significant amount of extraterrestrial iron and nickel, so the first step in …

Apr 4, 2024 · Meteorites crash through the atmospheres of all planets and moons in our solar system. Some planets and moons don't have enough atmosphere to break apart meteors, …

Jul 31, 2025 · Meteorites are precious rock samples preserving material from the birth of the Solar System 4.6 billion years ago. Some are actual pieces of the original matter from which the …

Learn more about meteorite locations, and where meteorites are found, here! How do we know whether a meteorite is a new, distinct meteorite or part of an older find? Detailed microscopic, …

The Museum houses one of the world's finest collections of meteorites, with around 5,000 individual pieces from 2,000 meteorites.

Meteorites are rocks from space that pass through the Earth’s atmosphere and survive impact with the ground. According to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, tens of …