meteorite
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GC: n

S: NASA – https://tinyurl.com/y77hvans (last access: 29 November 2018); TME – https://bit.ly/2zDjDXb (last access: 2 December 2018).

N: 1. From Ancient Greek μετέωρον (metéōron), from μετέωρος (metéōros, “raised from the ground, hanging, lofty”), from μετά (metá, “in the midst of, among, between”) (English meta) + ἀείρω (aeírō, “to lift, to heave, to raise up”).
2. If any part of a meteoroid survives the fall through the atmosphere and lands on Earth, it is called a meteorite. Although the vast majority of meteorites are very small, their size can range from about a fraction of a gram (the size of a pebble) to 100 kilograms (220 lbs) or more (the size of a huge, life-destroying boulder). Meteorites smaller than 2mm are classified as micrometeorites.
3. There are three main types of meteorites:

  • Iron meteorites: which are almost completely made of metal.
  • Stony-iron meteorites: which have nearly equal amounts of metal and silicate crystals.
  • Stony meteorites: which mostly have silicate minerals.

4. Do not confuse with asteroid (a relatively small, inactive, rocky body orbiting the Sun), meteoroid (a small particle from a comet or asteroid orbiting the Sun) or meteor (the light phenomena which results when a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere and vaporizes; a shooting star).
5. Cultural Interrelation: We can mention, among others, the book Meteorites (2004) by Robert Hutchison.

S: 1. OED – https://tinyurl.com/ybqj3mkm (last access: 29 November 2018). 2. IAU – https://tinyurl.com/yczjwxbv (last access: 2 December 2018). 3. NHM – https://tinyurl.com/y7oz8tt8 (last access: 29 November 2018). 4. EncBrit – https://tinyurl.com/yb6von7l (last access: 29 November 2018). 5. Fivebooks – https://bit.ly/2AHkPZA (last access: 2 December 2018).

CR: erosion, meteorology