How To Become a Meteorite
Public domain image: Rub' al-Khali 022 (filed name), Ash Sharqiyah, Saudi Arabia. Meteorite find in situ on desert pavement surface (chondrite pending formal classification, 408.50g)
Ever wonder what a Meteorite actually is? Or, the difference between Meteoroid, Meteor, and Meteorite? NASA has a whole page dedicated to this topic. As it turns out, only “space rocks” which make it all the way to earth are called Meteorites! According to NASA, Meteoriods are the dust and rocks in space, and they only become Meteors when they streak across our atmosphere, and only when they land, can they be called Meteorites!
Interestingly, these space rocks can be made up of rock or metals, or even ice, but most do not survive the entry through our atmosphere. What we do find on earth are whats left after much is burned away.
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