The ones that enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up are called meteors. The ones floating around in space are meteoroids. Meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites are really names for space rocks at different stages. What’s the difference between meteors, meteorites, and meteoroids? Technically speaking, though, the space rocks that reach the ground are typically called meteorites. In more casual use, meteorite is also sometimes used as a synonym for meteoroid-a rock traveling through space. The biggest impact crater on Earth is the Vredefort crater in South Africa-it was originally 185 miles across. The large Chicxulub crater in Mexico is thought to be from the meteorite strike that caused the extinction of many dinosaurs. Many meteorites have left huge depressions in Earth’s surface, called impact craters or meteorite craters. That’s a good way to remember that meteorites are the ones that make it to Earth’s surface as rocks. The -ite ending is often used in the names of rocks and minerals, such as anthracite. A meteorite might look like a fireball as it crashes toward Earth, but it eventually cools. This makes sense, because the bigger ones have more to get burned away on their way to the surface, while the smaller ones disintegrate into nothing. Meteorites tend to be bigger than the meteors that burn up before making it to the surface.
A particularly bright meteor can be called a bolide or a fireball, especially if it explodes.Ī meteorite is “a mass of stone or metal that has reached Earth from space.” In other words, a meteorite is a meteoroid that enters Earth’s atmosphere but does not burn up entirely, instead surviving to crash into the surface. What’s visible from Earth is a bright, fiery streak in the sky, and we also use the word meteor to refer to that streak (as opposed to the body itself). The friction from the atmosphere makes it heat up and glow, sometimes making it visible as it streaks through the sky. We’ve started with the word meteoroid because meteoroids can become meteors or meteorites.Ī meteor is a “a meteoroid that has entered Earth’s atmosphere.” Basically, it’s a small body of rock or metal that used to travel around in space, but that got sucked into Earth’s gravity. In the context of these terms, the word meteor might sound like the most general, but that’s not actually the case.
A meteoroid is significantly smaller than an asteroid, ranging from small grains or particles to the size of large boulders.” In other words, a meteoroid is a “space rock” smaller than an asteroid.
You’ll also learn how they compare or relate to asteroids and comets. You’re about to get a crash course in the differences and similarities-some subtle, some meatier-between meteors, meteorites, and meteoroids. Are they all the same thing? Even though some of them may appear pretty similar to us, the answer is no, they’re not the same thing-especially not to the scientists who study them and who use different terms for specific reasons (more on them later). Meteors, meteorites, meteoroids, asteroids, comets … that’s a lot of terms (and space objects) flying around! Not to mention shooting stars and meteor showers.