Meteors,
Meteoroids, and Meteorites
What is a Meteoroid?
A meteoroid is a small rock from an asteroid or comet floating in outer space. If a meteoroid's diameter is more than 10 meters it is classified as a asteroid.
What is a Meteor?
A meteor is a meteoroid in the Earth's atmosphere. A meteor is made up of bits of ice and rock. A meteor is also constantly moving.
What is a Meteorite?
A meteorite is a meteor that crashes onto Earth. Most meteor burn up before they hit the ground so there are less meteors than meteorites.
Type of Meteors
Meteor Shower
A meteor shower is when a lot of meteor fall about 1 second- 30 minutes apart. A meteor shower happens about 9 times a year.
Fireballs
A fireball is a very bright meteor. A fireball that explode in the Earth's atmosphere is called bolide
What are Meteors, Meteoroids, and Meteorites?
Meteorite crash in Russia: Video of meteor explosion that stirred panic in Urals region
Fun Facts
The largest meteor weighs 60 tons and was found in Hoba, Namibia. There are about 500 meteorites on the Earth every year, but scientist only study about 5.