Fast Facts for Kids
Meteorite Facts for Kids

Meteorite Facts for Kids

  • Common Name: Meteorite
  • Description: Space Debris That Impacts a Planet or Moon
  • Meteorite Sources: Asteroids, Comets, and Meteoroids
  • Composition: Iron, Stone or Iron and Stone
  • Size Range: One Gram to More than 200 Pounds
  • Discovered Meteorites: 50,000+ on Earth
  • Largest Meteorite Discovered: Hoba West in 1920 (72.75 Tons)

17 Meteorite Facts For Kids

  1. A meteorite is space debris from outer space that passes through a planet’s atmosphere and impacts the surface.
  2. The space debris that makes up a meteorite comes from asteroids, comets, or meteoroids.
  3. When space debris enters a planet’s atmosphere it then becomes a meteor and only when it impacts the surface does it becomes a meteorite.
  4. The International Astronomers Union (IAU) classifies a meteorite as space debris of natural origins and being between 0.001 inches and 3 feet in size.
  5. There are three classes of meteorites: stony meteorites, iron meteorites, and stony-iron meteorites.
  6. Stony meteorites have a silicate mineral composition (rocks or rocky).
  7. Iron meteorites have an iron alloy composition (metal).
  8. Stony-iron meteorites have a combination of both iron alloys and silicate minerals.
  9. Most of the meteorites that impact Earth are stony meteorites, with only 5% being iron meteorites and only about 1% being stony-iron meteorites.
  10. Meteorites impact the Earth’s surface traveling between 2,200 and 161,000 miles per hour, with the variance based on size, composition, and entry angle.
  11. There are an estimated 17,000 meteorites that impact Earth every year, with most being lost to the world’s Oceans.
  12. Professional and amateur meteorite hunters have discovered more than 50,000 meteorites on Earth.
  13. The Allan Hills A81005 meteorite was the first meteorite of lunar origins discovered on Earth on January 17th, 1982.
  14. The Allan Hills 84001 meteorite is a Martian meteorite discovered in 1984 that was inaccurately believed to contain microscopic fossils of bacteria from Mars.
  15. The Nogata meteorite is the oldest confirmed meteorite to have been watched and recovered on May 19th, 861.
  16. The Hoba West meteorite is the largest meteorite ever discovered on Earth with a weight of 72.75 tons. Scientists estimated the Hoba West meteorite impacted Earth in the last 80,000 years and impact Earth at more than 700 miles per hour.
  17. Ann Elizabeth Fowler Hodges was the first person confirmed to ever be struck by a meteorite on November 30th, 1954.

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Meteorite Pictures

Pictures are one of the best ways for people to learning about something. That is why we are providing you with the below images to help you with your research on meteorites. Below you will find three pictures that represent meteorites. These pictures should help you better understand meteorites and what they look like.

Meteorite That Landed On Earth

A picture of a meteorite that landed on Earth.

Meteorite About To Crash Into Earth

A picture of a meteorite about to crash into Earth.

Meteorite Crashing Into The Ocean

A picture of a meteorite crashing into the Ocean.

Meteorite Resources

Hopefully the above meteorite facts, data, stats, and pictures were helpful with your research. If you need to continue researching meteorites you can use one of the below websites. We selected the below websites for their credibility and accurate data on meteorites.