Meteorite

Meteorite is a smaller cosmic body (originally a meteoroid) that, due to favorable conditions, fell to the Earth's surface (or other planets). Meteor speeds in the atmosphere usually range from 11 to 72 km / s. Small bodies are used to designate micrometeorites. Most meteorites melt and evaporate when they pass through the Earth's atmosphere. Whether at least part of the body falls on the ground depends on several circumstances, the most important of which is the weight of the original meteoroid and the speed with which it entered the atmosphere (at a velocity of 11 km / s, a meteoroid of an original weight of 10 kg may also land on the ground). Another factor is the meteoroid structure: Iron meteorids (siderites) are less deflected when passing through the atmosphere, so they are more likely to fly to the ground. Broken chondritic meteors usually fall into smaller parts, which evaporate more easily; therefore only with a large input weight they may fall to the ground. The last major factor is the height at which the meteor ceased to shine. If it is more than 30 km above the ground, then it is very likely that the whole body has evaporated in the atmosphere.