Return to Astronomy Index PageMeteoroids
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A meteoroid is a chunk of rock, metal or carbon that orbits the Sun and is smaller than 1 kilometer in size. Meteoroids are leftovers from the formation of the solar system or some collision that occurred in space.
A meteor is a flash or streak of light that is left behind as a meteoroid is burn up in the atmosphere.
A meteorite is when the meteoroid strikes the surface of an object such as a planet or moon and often leaves an impact crater.