MeteoriteWork in progress. A solid natural object reaching a planet’s surface from interplanetary space. Solid portion of a meteoroid that survives its fall to Earth, or some other body. Meteorites are classified as stony meteorites, iron meteorites, and stony-iron meteorites. These groups are further divided according to their mineralogy and seen to fall. Such meteorites are usually collected soon after falling and are not affected by terrestrial weathering (Weathering = 0).
Beginning in 2014 (date needs confirmation), the NomComm adopted the use of the terms “probable fall” and “confirmed fall” to provide better insight into the meteorite’s history.
If a meteorite is not a fall, it is then considered a “find”, though some prefer the term “unobserved fall”.