A meteoroid is a small rock that zooms around outer space. When the meteoroid zips into the Earth’s atmosphere, it’s now called a meteor or “shooting star”. If the rock doesn’t vaporize en route, it’s called a meteorite as soon as it whacks into the ground. The word meteor comes from the Greek word for “high in the air.”
Meteorites are black, heavy (almost twice the normal rock density), and magnetic. However, there is an Earth-made rock that is also black, heavy, and magnetic (magnetite) that is not a meteorite. To tell the difference, scratch a line from both rocks onto an unglazed tile. Magnetite will leave a mark whereas the real meteorite will not.
Materials
- White paper
- Strong magnet
- Handheld magnifying glass (optional)