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Meteorite. The 60- tonne, 2.7 m-long (8.9 ft) Hoba meteorite in Namibia is the largest known intact meteorite. [1] A meteorite is a rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to 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 ...
A meteoroid shown entering the atmosphere, causing a visible meteor and hitting the Earth's surface, becoming a meteorite. A meteoroid ( / ˈmiːtiərɔɪd / MEE-tee-ə-royd) [1] is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space . Meteoroids are distinguished as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects ...
Ejecta blanket. An ejecta blanket is a generally symmetrical apron of ejecta that surrounds an impact crater; it is layered thickly at the crater's rim and thin to discontinuous at the blanket's outer edge. [1] The impact cratering is one of the basic surface formation mechanisms of the solar system bodies (including the Earth) and the ...
Look up meteoritics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Meteoritics [note 1] is the science that deals with meteors, meteorites, and meteoroids. [note 2] [2] [3] It is closely connected to cosmochemistry, mineralogy and geochemistry. A specialist who studies meteoritics is known as a meteoriticist. [4]
Meteor shower. A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories.
A. Ablation – the process of a meteorite losing mass during the passage through the atmosphere. Acapulcoite – a group of primitive achondrites. Accretion – the process in which matter of the protoplanetary disk coalesces to form planetesimals. Achondrite – a differentiated meteorite (meaning without chondrules ).
Impact crater. An impact crater is a depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, [2] impact craters typically have raised rims and floors that are lower in elevation than the surrounding terrain. [3]
This glossary of astronomy is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to astronomy and cosmology, their sub-disciplines, and related fields. Astronomy is concerned with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth. The field of astronomy features an extensive vocabulary and a ...