meteoroideista

Meteoroids are solid bodies in interplanetary space, ranging from millimeters to meters in size and smaller than asteroids. They originate mainly as fragments from collisions between asteroids in the solar system and as debris shed by comets, with additional input from interplanetary dust. Their composition can be rocky, metallic, or a mix, including micro-meteoroids that contribute to the space dust environment.

When a meteoroid enters Earth’s atmosphere, it experiences rapid heating and ablation, producing a visible streak called a meteor. If part of the object survives atmospheric passage, it reaches the ground as a meteorite. Entry speeds vary widely, typically from about 11 to 72 kilometers per second, depending on the meteoroid’s orbit and entry angle.

Earth’s orbit crossing debris streams from comets leads to meteor showers, such as the Perseids or Leonids, which produce numerous meteors per hour at their peak. These showers occur when the Earth passes through concentrations of particles left behind by a comet.

In space, meteoroids contribute to the micrometeoroid environment that can pose hazards to spacecraft and satellites due to high-velocity impacts. Scientists study meteoroids through meteor observations, radar detections of small particles, and the analysis of meteorites recovered on Earth, which provide physical samples that illuminate the early solar system and planetary formation.