Once it enters the upper earth atmosphere at speeds of up to 70 kilometres per second, tremendous air friction will heat it up rapidly. As the meteor slows down in its descent into the atmosphere, it interacts with surrounding gas and ionizes. Usually, not more than a fraction of a second after all this, the particle itself vaporizes completely. We see this ablation process as a brief streak of light in the night sky. In some cases, when the meteoroid is large enough to survive the trip into the atmosphere, it may fall on the ground and produce a meteorite.
Small meteorites are common.
Several may lie hidden on the surface among other natural earth rocks. Meteorites are valuable to scientists as they provide important clues to unlock the many secrets of our own Solar System. Some rarer meteorites may be considerably large and produce a crater on the surface. One famous example is Meteor Crater in Arizona, USA that was produced only several thousands years ago from an object the size of a school bus. Scientists believe a giant meteorite may have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.