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The 60-tonne, 2.7 m-long (8.9 ft) Hoba meteorite in Namibia is the largest known intact meteorite.[1]A meteorite is a rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or moon.
Impactite is rock created or modified by one or more impacts of a meteorite. [1] [2] Impactites are considered metamorphic rock, because their source materials were modified by the heat and pressure of the impact. [3] On Earth, impactites consist primarily of modified terrestrial material, sometimes with pieces of the original meteorite. [3]
Fossil meteorite – a meteorite that was buried under layers of sediment before the start of the Quaternary period. Some or all of the original cosmic material has been replaced by diagenetic minerals. [3]: 320 (It is, however, not a fossil). Fusion crust – a coating on meteorites that forms during their passage through the atmosphere.
Martian meteorites can be compared to analysis carried out by rovers (e.g. Curiosity). Meteorites can also be compared to spectral classes of asteroids. In order to identify the parent body of a class of meteorites, scientists compare their albedo and spectra with other known bodies. These studies show that some meteorite classes are closely ...
Stony-iron meteorites or siderolites are meteorites that consist of nearly equal parts of meteoric iron and silicates. This distinguishes them from the stony meteorites, that are mostly silicates, and the iron meteorites, that are mostly meteoric iron. [1] Stony-iron meteorites are all differentiated, meaning that they show signs of alteration.
Pallasites are a rare type of meteorite. Only 61 are known to date, including 10 from Antarctica, with four being observed falls. [9] [10] The following four falls are in chronological order: Mineo, Sicily, Italy. A luminous meteor was observed and an object seen to fall with a loud roar in May 1826. Only 46 grams (1.6 oz) are preserved in ...
A chondrite / ˈ k ɒ n d r aɪ t / is a stony (non-metallic) meteorite that has not been modified, by either melting or differentiation of the parent body. [a] [1] They are formed when various types of dust and small grains in the early Solar System accreted to form primitive asteroids.
The Zacatecas Meteorite found in 1782 in Zacatecas Mexico, weighing 780kg. See also: Iron meteorite § Structural classification Octahedrites can be grouped by the dimensions of kamacite lamellae in the Widmanstätten pattern , which are related to the nickel content: [ 3 ]