A meteoroid is a small solid body moving through space; a meteor is the luminous atmospheric phenomenon produced when such material enters an atmosphere at high speed; a meteorite is material that survives passage and reaches the ground. Meteorites provide samples of asteroids and planetary bodies without spacecraft return missions.
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A meteoroid is a small solid body moving through space; a meteor is the luminous atmospheric phenomenon produced when such material enters an atmosphere at high speed; a meteorite is material that survives passage and reaches the ground.
supportedImpact energy scales with one-half mass times velocity squared, so speed strongly affects consequences.
supportedMeteor networks triangulate atmospheric paths, recovered meteorites reveal primitive and differentiated asteroid material, and impact craters contain diagnostic features such as shocked minerals, melt, ejecta blankets, and central peaks.