Meteoroids

                         Meteoroids

Meteoroids are small chunks of rock particles or mixture of stone and iron. When a meteorite enters the atmosphere of the Earth, as a result of the friction it is heated and glows showing a streak of light called meteors or shooting stars. When the Earth passes through the debris left by a comet, meteor shower takes place. During this process most of the meteors burn up in the atmosphere. Some larger meteors will reach the surface of the Earth and they are called meteorites. Meteorites are of two kinds.Stony meteorites and stony iron meteorites.

                    Impact Craters

The craters formed due to the fall of meteorites are called impact craters. There are about 150 impact craters all over the world. The Woolf Crater in Australia and the Meteor Crater of Arizona in USA are the best known examples of impact craters.