METEORITE PENDANTS FOR SALE

What Are Meteorites?

Meteorites are space rocks that survive their journey through Earth's atmosphere and reach the ground. They originate from asteroids, comets, or even planets and moons in our solar system. These rocks provide an ancient record of the solar system’s formation, making them highly valuable to scientists and collectors alike. Meteorites typically start as meteoroids, small fragments of asteroids or other celestial bodies. When these meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere, they heat up and produce a bright trail, often referred to as a meteor or "shooting star." If the meteoroid survives the intense heat and pressure during its descent, it lands as a meteorite.

Meteorites are classified into three main categories based on their composition:

Stony Meteorites: The most common type, composed primarily of silicate minerals, similar to the rocks on Earth. They include chondrites, which contain small, spherical structures called chondrules, and achondrites, which do not.

Iron Meteorites: Composed mainly of nickel-iron alloy, these meteorites have a metallic appearance and often display Widmanstätten patterns—a unique crystalline structure visible when cut and polished. Iron meteorites come from the cores of differentiated asteroids, giving them a unique planetary connection.

Stony-Iron Meteorites: The rarest type, combining metal and silicate rock. These include pallasites and mesosiderites, which offer a striking contrast of metal and olivine crystals or other silicates. Stony-irons are believed to form at the boundary between an asteroid's core and mantle.

Meteorites are invaluable to science because they carry clues about the early solar system's formation, the processes that formed planets, and the composition of objects that have remained relatively unchanged for billions of years. They’re like time capsules from space, containing information from the time when planets were still forming. Whether used for research or treasured as a collectible, meteorites bring a piece of the cosmos down to Earth, offering us a tangible connection to the vast history of our solar system.