Meteorite

Imagine you're looking up at the night sky, and suddenly you see a bright streak of light shooting across it. That's what we call a meteor, or a shooting star. But did you know that sometimes those shooting stars aren't just flashes of light? Sometimes they're pieces of rock or metal that actually make it all the way down to Earth's surface – those are meteorites!

So, where do meteorites come from? Well, most of them are bits and pieces of asteroids, which are rocky objects floating around in space. Sometimes, these asteroids bump into each other, and little chunks break off. Those chunks are what we call meteoroids. When a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere, it starts to burn up because of the friction with the air. That's what creates the bright streak of light we see – the meteor.

But if a meteoroid is big enough and tough enough, it can survive the fiery journey through the atmosphere and land on Earth's surface. That's when it becomes a meteorite. Meteorites can be made of different stuff – some are rocky, like the ground beneath our feet, while others are made of metal, like iron.

Meteorites are pretty cool because they can tell us a lot about space and the history of our solar system. Scientists study them to learn about the materials that formed our planets and how they've changed over billions of years. Plus, they're just really neat to look at and hold in your hand – it's like holding a piece of outer space right here on Earth!