In what ways are meteorites different from meteors? What is the probable origin of each?
Meteors typically come from comets that have passed through the solar system;
their solid material is freed when the ice is vaporized by the heat of the Sun.
Meteorites miss the atmosphere whereas meteors hit the outer layers only.
Most meteors come from Mars and carry important information about the past
of the red planet.
Meteorites are large enough to withstand the violent passage through Earth's
atmosphere, whereas meteors burn up from the heat of friction.
Most meteorites, on the other hand, are from asteroids or from debris kicked up
on the Moon or Mars during an impact.
