SOLAR SYSTEM

Detailed explanation-1: -Scientists think up to 50 metric tons of meteors fall on the Earth each day, but most are no bigger than a pebble. Meteors that don’t burn up in the atmosphere strike Earth’s surface. These meteors are called meteorites. Meteors are described by their size, brightness and proximity to Earth.

Detailed explanation-2: -This chart shows that the most common mass for a stony meteorite is in the range 128-256 grams (4.5-9 oz.). If a sphere, that is an ordinary chondrite in the 4.2-5.3 cm diameter range. This chart shows that half of stony meteorites are less than 283 g (10 oz.) in mass.

Detailed explanation-3: -Most of the meteors you see are about the size of a grain of sand and burn up at altitudes above 50 kilometers (in the mesosphere). If the chunk of rock is a meter or larger in size, it is called an asteroid.

Detailed explanation-4: -Tektites are small, pebble-like glassy objects of Earth material that have been melted by meteorite impact, splashed up into our atmosphere, and fallen to Earth again under gravity. They often acquire aerodynamic shapes when they partially melt on their return journey.

Detailed explanation-5: -In April 2017, the IAU adopted an official revision of its definition, limiting size to between 30 µm and one meter in diameter, but allowing for a deviation for any object causing a meteor. Objects smaller than meteoroids are classified as micrometeoroids and interplanetary dust.