their terminal velocity and, at most, create a small pit. Large meteoroids may strike the earth with a significant fraction of their escape velocity (second A meteorite is a rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with the atmospheric gases cause it to heat up and radiate energy. It then becomes a meteor and forms a fireball, also known as a shooting star; astronomers call the brightest ex Larg…