Jams Van Disdel, age 13of Omaha, Neb., for her question:

 

 

Is a meteor different from a meteorite?

 

Every meteorite was once a meteor. During its meteor days it was a space traveler, roaming the vast areas between the planets. For it is believed that most, if not all, meteors are members of our Solar System.

A meteor is a lump of rock or metal. It may be small as a grain of sand or large as a huge boulder weighing many tons. To become a meteorite it must crash into a moon or a planet. Those that crash into the earth must come through a blanket or air before reaching the ground. This causes them to burn and all the smaller meteors are consumed to ashes on the way.

 

A few larger meteors do survive and land with a thump on the ground. When this happens, a meteor becomes a meteorite. So, a meteorite is dust an earthbound meteor, whose space traveling days are over forever.