Question

Which of the following terms describes a space object that lands on Earth?

Impact crater

Meteor

Meteorite

Meteoroid

Answer 1

Meteorite

A meteor is a piece of iron or rock that is falling through the earth's atmosphere from space. It is called a meteorite when it lands on the earth's surface. A meteor is much bigger in size than a meteorite as much of the meteor burns off in the earth's atmosphere, creating the visible "shooting star" in the sky. Meteorites are different sizes and shapes. The largest meteorite ever discovered was in 1920 in South Africa. It weighed about 50 tons.

Answer 2

BTW the debris is called a meteoroid. A meteoroid is a piece of interplanetary matter that is smaller than a kilometer and frequently only millimeters in size. Most meteoroids that enter the Earth's atmosphere are so small that they vaporize completely and never reach the planet's surface.