Aerolites

Aerolite is a term sometimes used historically to refer to meteorites, particularly stony meteorites. The word itself derives from Greek, meaning "air stone." In the past, before the scientific understanding of meteorites was widespread, objects falling from the sky were often met with awe and superstition. The term aerolite captured this sense of a celestial object that had traversed the atmosphere.

While the term "meteorite" is now the universally accepted scientific designation for a solid piece of debris from an object, originally from space, that survives passage through Earth's atmosphere and lands on the surface, "aerolite" was once a common synonym. Today, the term is largely considered archaic or obsolete in scientific contexts, though it may occasionally appear in older literature or in a less formal, historical discussion. The distinction between different types of meteorites, such as stony, iron, and stony-iron, is now the standard classification. Therefore, when encountering the term aerolite, it is generally understood to be referring to a meteorite, most likely of the stony variety, based on historical usage.