Meteors and Meteorites

A meteor is a “shooting star"; a bit of interplanetary ice or rock that vaporizes in Earth's upper atmosphere as a burst of incandescent gas. A meteorite is a space rock that strikes the surface of Earth. Most meteorites are classified as stony because of their mineral composition, which may include olivine, pyroxene, serpentine, sulfates, organic compounds, iron, and nickel. See our list of this year's meteor showers for more information.

Resources

Remnants from the Beginning Whenever you build a new house, you always have...
Meteorites To the people of L'Aigle, France, it must have...

Radio Programs

Eta Aquarid Meteors Sparks from a “wet” constellation Saturday, May 4, 2013
Sutter’s Mill A new strike at Sutter’s Mill Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Capistrano Meteorite A California town gets a visitor Friday, March 15, 2013
Flashy Neighbor Evidence of a flashy neighbor Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Moon and Mars Visitors from other worlds Saturday, December 15, 2012
Orionid Meteors A trail of lights from a messy comet Saturday, October 20, 2012
Zagami Meteorite A startling messenger from Mars Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Dawn II Piecing together the story of an asteroid Thursday, August 23, 2012
Desert Storm A rain of stones from beyond Earth Thursday, July 19, 2012
Sun Power Weathering bouts of space weather Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Space Rocks III In search of space rocks Friday, January 20, 2012
Space Rocks II Studying pieces of other worlds Thursday, January 19, 2012
Space Rocks Rocks from beyond Earth Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Harvey Nininger II Buying space rocks for a dollar a pound Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Harvey Nininger A burning passion for space rocks Monday, January 16, 2012
Rock Hunting Scouring the ice for space rocks Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Dawn at Vesta III An asteroid with a difference Friday, July 15, 2011
More Moon and Mars Mars falls on an Egyptian village Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Geminid Meteors The meteoric fate of a meteor parent Monday, December 13, 2010
Leonid Meteors Enjoying an astronomical light show Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Moon and Jupiter Filling up the lunar "seas" Thursday, September 23, 2010
More Moon and Companions Picking up rocks from Mars Thursday, June 17, 2010
Space Weathering II

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