that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical object
s called meteoroid
s, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroid
s. When a meteoroid enters the atmosphere, ram pressure
(not friction
) causes the body to heat up and emit light, thus forming a fireball, also known as a meteor or shooting/falling star.
1492 The Ensisheim Meteorite, the oldest meteorite with a known date of impact, strikes the earth around noon in a wheat field outside the village of Ensisheim, Alsace, France.
1804 High Possil Meteorite: The first recorded meteorite in Scotland falls in Possil.
1846 The Cape Girardeau meteorite, a 2.3 kg chondrite-type meteorite strikes near the town of Cape Girardeau in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.
1861 The Canellas meteorite, an 859-gram chondrite-type meteorite, strikes the earth near Barcelona, Spain.
1881 A meteorite lands near the village of Grossliebenthal, southwest of Odessa, Ukraine.
1911 A 772 gram stony meteorite strikes the earth near Kilbourn, Columbia County, Wisconsin damaging a barn.
1912 A meteorite with an estimated mass of 190 kg explodes over the town of Holbrook in Navajo County, Arizona causing approximately 16,000 pieces of debris to rain down on the town.
1916 A 611 gram chondrite type meteorite strikes a house near the village of Baxter in Stone County, Missouri.
1932 A {{convert|5.1|kg|lb}} chondrite-type meteorite breaks into at least seven pieces and lands near the town of Archie in Cass County, Missouri.
1973 The Cañon City meteorite, a 1.4 kg chondrite type meteorite, strikes in Fremont County, Colorado.