meteorites

Cultural  

1. Objects from outside the Earth that enter the Earth's field of gravitation and fall to the Earth's surface. Meteors, on the other hand, are objects from space that burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.

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Meteorites are bodies that are left over from the time when the planets formed, and therefore give us clues about the formation of the solar system.

Example Sentences

Without an atmosphere to shield it, the planet is constantly exposed to intense radiation from its star and impacts from meteorites.

From Science Daily • May 5, 2026

However, the experiment cannot determine whether these organic compounds came from past life on Mars, natural geological processes, or meteorites that struck the planet.

From Science Daily • Apr. 28, 2026

"The same stuff that rained down on Mars from meteorites is what rained down on Earth, and it probably provided the building blocks for life as we know it on our planet," Williams said.

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

She said: "Based on the fireball trajectory, the event occurred over the North Sea so, sadly, we do not expect any recoverable meteorites."

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

Each day, millions of meteorites fall against the outer limits of the membrane and are burned to nothing by the friction.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas