Meteoroids larger than pea-size may survive their trip through the atmosphere to land on the Earth as meteorites. Slightly smaller bodies usually vaporize completely. Dust-size particles survive the trip because they are so light that they slow down very quickly. Microscopic dust survives, but may take years to reach the ground. They may be analogous to the core of our own planet.
Pallasites contain approximately equal proportions of silicate and nickel-iron.
They are considered to be analogous to the Earth's core-mantle boundary. These are volcanic rocks composed of silicate minerals such as plagioclase, olivine and pyroxene and some are considered to be the analogous to the Earth's crust. They contain particles that were among the first solids to form in the early solar system. Only 14 have been found on Earth and this is the first known to have hit in the United States. In April of 1948, this meteorite weighing 30 pounds was found on a ranch near Neenach in the western Antelope Valley.