meteorite

The definition of a meteorite is a rock that is found on Earth that did not form on Earth.

Facts About Meteorites

  • As of November 2012 there have been 1910 meteorites found in the United States.
  • Meteorites have fallen in almost every state in the United States with the exception of four - Delaware, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
  • The earliest meteorite to be found in the United States was uncovered in Havana, Illinois sometime during the 1940s.
  • Most of the meteorites that have been found in the United States are made of iron.

An example of a meteorite is the 34,000 pound iron-nickel Williamette meteorite found in 1902 in the Williamette Valley in Oregon, the largest meteorite discovered in North America.

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See meteorite in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

that part of a relatively large meteoroid that survives passage through the atmosphere and falls to the surface of a planet or moon as a mass of metal or stone

Related Forms:

See meteorite in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
A stony or metallic mass of matter that has fallen to the earth's surface from outer space.

Related Forms:

  • meˌte·or·itˈic (-ə-rĭtˈĭk), meˌte·or·itˈi·cal adjective

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