Meteorites

Occasionally, however, some of these bodies do reach our earth, despite the friction and opposition of the earth’s atmosphere. Such bodies are called meteorites, siderites, or aerolites. Only a few of these are seen to strike the earth yearly, and it is a remarkable fact that, so far as we have any record, not one of them has ever struck a town or killed an individual. The outside of the meteorite during its passage through the air is subject to intense and sudden heating, and the rapid expansion of its surface-layers often breaks it into many fragments. The surface is fused and, on striking, cools rapidly. The result is that it has a black, glossy structure, usually with many small pits where the less refractive material has been melted out. Such meteorites may be seen in most large museums.