A Brief Guide to Meteor and Meteorite.
                     A BRIEF GUIDE TO 
METEOR AND METEORITE
Meteoroids
• Meteoroids are objects in space that range in 
size from dust grains to small asteroids. Think 
of them as “space rocks."
Source: solarsystem.nasa.gov
Damage by 
Meteoroids
• A rocky meteoroid larger than 25 meters but 
smaller than one kilometer might cause local 
damage if it crashes into Earth. 
• Every about 2000 years, a meteoroid with 
about 92 meters hits Earth, causing significant 
damage to the area. 
Source: visionspace.blog
Meteors
• When meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere 
(or that of another planet, like Mars) at high 
speed and burn up, the fireballs or “shooting 
stars” are called meteors.
Source: solarsystem.nasa.gov
Meteors Explosion
• A very bright and large meteor explosion in the 
atmosphere is called bolide or fireball, and 
they can create shockwaves that can cause 
problems disturbing life on Earth. 
Source: solarsystem.nasa.gov
Meteor showers
• About 48.5 tons of meteoritic material falls on 
the Earth daily, and almost everything is 
vaporized in Earth’s atmosphere. 
• It is possible to see several meteors per hour 
during the night, and this number can increase 
considerably during meteor showers, which 
occurs at regular intervals.
Source: visionspace.blog
When Meteor Shower
Happen?
• Meteors showers generally happen when Earth 
passes through a dusty trail left by a comet 
and are often named a star or constellation 
near the meteors’ position in the sky. 
Source: visionspace.blog
Meteorites 
• Sometimes meteoroids don’t entirely vaporize 
in the atmosphere landing on Earth’s surface, 
and they are then called meteorites. 
Source: visionspace.blog
Types of Meteorites 
• Depending on their sizes, they can make a 
crater in the ground, and they are divided into 
three broad groups, depending on their 
structure, mineralogy, and chemical and 
isotopic composition.
Source: visionspace.blog
Composition of 
Meteorites 
• The stony meteorites, mainly composed of 
silicate minerals, the iron meteorites, formed 
primarily of metallic iron-nickel. 
• And the stony-iron meteorites, which contain a 
considerable amount of both metallic and 
rocky material. 
Source: visionspace.blog
Difference between meteor and 
meteorite 
• The difference among those bodies depends 
on the location they are being observed. 
• You can only find asteroids and meteoroids in 
space; they become meteors when they enter 
the atmosphere, and on the ground, they 
become meteorites.
Source: visionspace.blog