METEORITE

Meteorite

A meteorite is a solid piece of debris, from such sources as asteroids or comets, that originates in outer space and survives its impact with the Earth's surface. It is called a meteoroid before its impact. A meteorite's size can range from small to extremely large. When a meteoroid enters the atmosphere, friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with the atmospheric gases cause it to heat up and radiate that energy, thus forming a fireball, also known as a meteor or shooting/falling star. The term bolide refers to either an extraterrestrial body that collides with the Earth, or to an exceptionally bright, fireball-like meteor regardless of whether it ...

The above text is a snippet from Wikipedia: Meteorite
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meteorite

Noun

  1. A metallic or stony object or body that is the remains of a meteor


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: meteorite
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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