The Meaning and Differences of Meteorites, Meteors, and Meteoroids Explained

KOMPAS.com – Meteor, meteoroid, and meteorite are terms that actually refer to the same object. This naming difference depends on the location of the object.

The following is an explanation of meteorites and their differences from meteors and meteoroids.

Meaning of meteorite

According to National Geographic, meteorites are space rocks that fall to the Earth’s surface.

Dust-sized particles, called micrometeorites, make up 99 percent of the roughly 50 tons of space debris that fall to Earth’s surface each day.

Also read: What is the Meteor Shower Phenomenon?

However, some meteorites are the size of a large boulder. The largest meteorite found on Earth is the Hoba meteorite which was discovered in Namibia in 1920.

The Hoba meteorite weighs about 54,000 kilograms. The Hoba meteorite was so large and so heavy that it was never moved from where it was found.

Most meteorites closely resemble rocks found on Earth, but meteorites usually have a dark, burnt exterior.

The exterior was formed when friction from the atmosphere melted meteorites that hit Earth. Known as thermal ablation, this process can also give meteorites a rough or smooth surface.

Also read: How Does the Meteor Shower Phenomenon Occur?

Meteorites don’t just hit Earth

Not only Earth, meteorites hit the atmospheres of all the planets and moons in the solar system. Some planets and moons don’t have enough atmosphere to break up meteors, resulting in large meteorites.

These larger meteorites created the deep, spherical impact craters that can be found on the Moon, Mercury, and Mars.

In 2005, the first meteorite found on another planet was discovered by Opportunity, one of NASA’s Mars rover spacecraft.

Then, in 2014, the Curiosity spacecraft found a meteorite as wide as 2 meters, making it the largest meteorite ever found on Mars.

Also read: Mesosphere, the Layer that Protects the Earth from Falling Meteors

The difference between meteors, meteoroids and meteorites

According to NASA, meteoroids are objects commonly called “space rocks” that range in size from dust grains to small asteroids. This term only applies when the rock object is in outer space.

Most meteoroids are pieces of other, larger objects that have been damaged or destroyed. Some come from comets, others from asteroids, and some even come from the Moon or other planets.

Some meteoroids are rock, while others are metal, or a combination of rock and metal.

When meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere or the atmospheres of other planets, such as Mars, at high speed and burn up, they are called meteors.

Also read: Not Answering Prayers, Shooting Stars Are Actually Meteors

Sometimes meteors can appear even brighter than Venus, so they are often called “fireballs.”

When a meteoroid survives its journey through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it is called a meteorite.

So, before they became meteorites, these rocks were meteors. Before becoming a meteor, the rock is called a meteoroid.

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2023-07-17 05:30:00
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