The larger pieces, however, survive the passage and land on our planet or splash down in the ocean. Scientists then study these rocks with a great deal of interest. Because our solar system formed so long ago, most of the original building materials have been modified, heated, melted, and generally changed beyond recognition. This fact leaves scientists at a bit of a loss. There is evidence - the space debris.
Meteorites offer scientists pristine examples of the way our solar system used to be.
Most meteorites are chondrites, primitive rocks made up of thousands of chondrules, dust particles that were heated to the point of melting, then cooled and hardened into tiny spheres. Most chondrites are made up of about 90 percent silicates and 10 percent metal. The conventional solar system formation theory suggests that these tiny chondrules began as dust balls floating in the region of space we know today as the asteroid belt. The dust balls were somehow heated to the point of melting - exactly where the necessary heat came from has been a point of contention among scientists for some time. Regardless of how they were heated, the molten balls then cooled and hardened, forming chondrules.