
The majority of all meteoroids are primarily comprised of similar materials, having a large amount of nickel and iron. They move at speeds of up to 100,000mph, and orbit the Sun in an ellipse pattern. Meteroids tend to originate in the asteroid belt, but they can also be parts of a comet too (comets generally come from further out in the Kuiper belt). However, it’s worth mentioning that they are relatively small in comparison to asteroids, but can still be quite large. A meteoroid is simply defined as a small object that is moving through interplanetary space. Meteoroidsīefore a meteor enters into the Earth’s atmosphere, we call it a meteoroid.


Though you may hear them being referred to as a small asteroid or space rocks due to their rocky bodies, there is a good reason why we actually like to call them by their technical name – here’s why. So, a meteor, a meteorite and a meteoroid are all the same object, but we refer to them by a different name depending on which part they are in their journey. However, if that meteor makes it to the Earth’s ground without being destroyed, then it is then called a meteorite. When a meteoroid is within Earth’s atmosphere flying through the air, we call that a meteor. The difference between a meteor and a meteorite is quite simply the stages that they are in. So what is the difference between a meteor and a meteorite? Well, let’s have a look and find out. The truth is that in many cases, they represent very similar objects, and in the case, the same object – just at different points in their life. However, it can be very difficult to keep up with all this, and even know what the differences between them are.

You’ve probably heard of both meteors and meteorites, as well as a whole host of other objects that are out there in our solar system.
