WHAT IS A METEORITE?

IN SIMPLEST TERMS, A METEORITE IS A ROCK THAT FALLS TO EARTH FROM SPACE.

Meteorites are rocks, but they are not like Earth rocks. Most are far older, and they provide some of the only samples we have of other worlds—other planets, asteroids and possibly comets—in our solar system. Some meteorites even contain tiny particles that formed around other stars that existed before our Sun.

Because meteorites are ancient pieces of these celestial bodies, scientists rely on them for information about the history of our solar system. The study of meteorites has helped us understand the beginnings of our solar system, how planets and asteroids formed and how impacts of large meteorites have altered Earth's history and life on our planet.