Science · 6 pages · 12 min

How a meteor differs from a meteorite

A meteor is the flash in the air, and a meteorite is the rock that lands.

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From the opening

A meteor is the light made when a meteoroid, a small solid body from space, hits the atmosphere and heats the air along its path. A meteorite is what remains if a piece of that body survives the flight and reaches the ground. The opening covers the flash versus the surviving stone, why most streaks leave nothing, and what the body was before entry.

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Inside

The flash versus the surviving stone
Why most streaks leave nothing
What the body was before entry
How a fallen stone is known
Where the idea stops applying
A distinction worth keeping

Sources

The meteor, meteoroid, and meteorite distinction
Ablation and survival during atmospheric entry

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How a meteor differs from a meteorite

From the opening

Inside

Sources

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