GEMS is not responsible for any modifications or for the accuracy of the Spanish translations. To investigate the formation of craters and the size effects of the meteorite's angle and speed of impact. Before class assemble all materials and spread newspapers under the basins. Next, discuss with the class the definition of a meteor, meteoroid, and meteorite. A meteoroid is a particle or rock traveling through space.
Size can range from microscopic to many meters across.
A meteor is a streak of light seen in the night sky caused by a meteoroid entering the Earth's atmosphere and vaporizing in a flash of light. The light is produced by the heat of friction between the meteoroid and the atmosphere. The average size meteoroid which causes the meteors that we see at night is probably no larger than a grain of sand. Speeds can be as great as 50,000 miles per hour or more. A meteorite is a meteoroid which has struck the Earth.