A meteorite is a solid object of extraterrestrial origin. Understand here that this object does not come from our dear planet Earth and neither from the little green men. A meteorite is a solid object which has not completely disintegrated while passing through the Earth’s atmosphere and finally its course on Earth’s soil.
There is a wide variety of meteorites, generally classified into three broad categories: stony meteorites, metallic meteorites and mixed meteorites. Let’s see all of this in detail in the rest of this article.
Table of Contents
The different varieties of meteorites
The stony meteorites are meteorites made up mainly of silicates. They include chondrites and achondrites. Chondrules are small beads that can range from a few hundred microns to a few millimeters.
Chondrites are meteorites that are generally stony and generally contain chondrites whose components have not undergone fusion. The most primitive meteorites would be among the chondrites.
Achondrites, on the other hand, are stony meteorites containing less than 35% metal and which originate from the surface of large asteroids.
Stony meteorite
The metallic meteorites, also called iron meteorites or siderite meteorites, are meteorites composed mainly of an alloy of iron and nickel. These meteorites represent 5% of the falls of known meteorites.
Metallic meteorite
Finally, the mixed meteorites are also called ferro-stony meteorites, or lithosiderites or siderolites. These meteorites contain half an iron-nickel alloy and half silicates. Mixed meteorites represent only 1% of falls. These meteorites originate from the area between the metal core and the rock mantle of a large asteroid.
Mixed meteorite
Did you know ?
A widespread idea is that a huge meteorite is the cause of the disappearance of the dinosaurs. This asteroid would have been several kilometers in diameter and this event would date from 65 million years ago. In addition, researchers estimate that 10,000 tonnes of micrometeorites and meteorites fall to Earth each year.