Space rocks were formed at the birth of our solar system some 4.5 billion years ago.
Meteorites are pieces of ancient material that survive their fall to Earth from space.
A meteorite is named after a place nearest to where it fell. Meteorites are often covered in a thin black crust called the fusion crust formed where the surface of the meteorite has melted through frictional heating as it came through the atmosphere. Only the outermost layer of the meteorite melts, the inside remains the same. Wiluna District, Western Australia.