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meteorite

Piece of solid matter from outer space that has impacted the Earth

EntityQ60186

Also known as shooting star

Subclass of: rock
, astronomical object

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

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 atmospheric gases cause it to heat up and radiate energy. It then becomes a meteor and forms a fireball, also known as a shooting star; astronomers call the brightest examples "bolides". Once it settles on the larger body's surface, the meteor becomes a meteorite. Meteorites vary greatly in size. For geologists, a bolide is a meteorite large enough to create an impact crater.

Overview

All data

78 statements · 19% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Properties for this type: Meteoritical Bulletin Database ID
Formed in: universe
Studied by: aerolithology
Different from: meteoroid

On other databases

65 identifiers linking meteorite across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

19%

externally sourced

Source last edited October 9, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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Cite this page

AIDB. (2026). meteorite (Q60186). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/meteorite-Q60186