Meteoroids, Meteors and Meteorites

Space Rocks: From Meteoroids to Meteorites

Imagine tiny rocks floating around in space. These are called meteoroids. They can be very small, like grains of sand, or as big as a boulder.

When a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere, it starts to burn up. This creates a streak of light in the sky that we call a meteor, or a shooting star. Most meteoroids burn up completely before they reach the ground.

If a meteoroid is big enough to survive its fiery journey through the atmosphere and lands on Earth, it's called a meteorite. Meteorites can be very old, sometimes even older than our planet!