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BookmarkA meteorite is a small extraterrestrial body that impacts the Earth's surface.
See also:
While in space they are called meteoroids, and while falling through Earth's atmosphere they are called meteors.
These are small asteroids, approximately boulder-sized or less.
When it enters the atmosphere, air drag and friction cause the body to heat up and emit light, thus forming a fireball or shooting star..
For more information about the topic Meteorite, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:
Meteor — A meteor is the visible path of a meteoroid that enters the Earth's (or another body's) atmosphere, commonly called a shooting star or falling star. ... > read more
Impact event — Impact events are caused by the collision of large meteoroids, asteroids or comets (generically: bolides) with Earth and may sometimes be followed by ... > read more
Impact crater — An impact crater is a circular depression on a surface, usually referring to a planet, moon, asteroid, or other celestial body, caused by a collision ... > read more
Tunguska event — The Tunguska event was an explosion that occurred at 60 degrees 55'N 101degrees 57'E, near the Podkamennaya (Under Rock) Tunguska River, in what is ... > read moreNote: This page refers to an article that is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the article Meteorite at Wikipedia.org. See the Wikipedia copyright page for more details.
