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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. 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 ).
An Earth-grazing fireball (or Earth grazer) [2] is a fireball, a very bright meteor that enters Earth’s atmosphere and leaves again. Some fragments may impact Earth as meteorites, if the meteor starts to break up or explodes in mid-air. These phenomena are then called Earth-grazing meteor processions and bolides. [1]
Meteorite classification. In meteoritics, a meteorite classification system attempts to group similar meteorites and allows scientists to communicate with a standardized terminology when discussing them. Meteorites are classified according to a variety of characteristics, especially mineralogical, petrological, chemical, and isotopic properties.
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]
Meteorite weathering is the terrestrial alteration of a meteorite. Most meteorites date from the oldest times in the Solar System and are by far the oldest material available on our planet. Despite their age, they are vulnerable to the terrestrial environment. Water, chlorine and oxygen attack meteorites as soon as they reach the ground.
Impactite. Impactite is rock created or modified by one or more impacts of a meteorite. [1] [2] Impactites are considered metamorphic rock, because their source materials were modified by the heat and pressure of the impact. [3] On Earth, impactites consist primarily of modified terrestrial material, sometimes with pieces of the original meteorite.
Aubrite. Aubrites are a group of meteorites named for Aubres, [1] a small achondrite meteorite that fell in 1836 in Aubres near Nyons, France. They are primarily composed of the orthopyroxene enstatite and are often called enstatite achondrites. Their igneous origin separates them from primitive enstatite achondrites and means they originated ...