Within the class of stone meteorites exists an important type called carbonaceous chondrites. These meteorites contain chondrules, millimeter-sized orbs of minerals that were once molten droplets.

But not all meteorites are lumps. A substantial population, like the leftovers from the 2013 Chelyabinsk airburst, are notably conical. One team of scientists thinks they know why.

While it may look a lot like a meteorite, slag usually vesicular and is glassy, two things a meteorite is not. For more information on meteorites, identification, and what to do if you think you have ...

Hildebrand said iron meteorites look like lumps of iron, stone meteorites have black or dark grey crusts on them and carbonaceous chondrites are black.

Weird matrix Straight away, the Hypatia mineral matrix (represented by fruitcake dough), looks nothing like that of any known meteorites, the rocks that fall from space onto Earth every now and then.

Much of the meteorite disintegrated as it traveled through the earth’s atmosphere, but several fragments did make it through and hit the earth.

Scientists have confirmed that rocks collected recently in the Moroccan desert came from the Red Planet. University of Alberta meteorite expert Chris Herd, who has acquired one of the chunks ...

A meteorite’s surface may be covered with thumbprint-shaped indentations called regmaglypts, produced while penetrat the atmosphere. Some meteorites may not exhibit any of these major traits.

While there are a variety of meteorites, look for identifiers like thumbprint-like indentations, an ash-like crust, shiny flakes and/or flow lines.

“Rarely do the objects survive this fiery descent look like that shared ideal seen in this meteorite,” he added.