Display with 12 boxes of pieces of Meteorite on a chain.

A meteorite is a part of a meteoroid that reaches the earth after falling through the atmosphere from space. During the journey through the atmosphere, the material slows down considerably and becomes extremely hot, which can be visible as a meteor. Meteorites are in fact space debris. Sometimes the origin of meteorites can be determined by their composition. For example, more than twenty meteorites have been identified that originated from the moon, knocked loose by the impact of another meteorite. Meteorites such as ALH84001 have also been found, which are known to come from Mars. However, many meteorites come from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Whether there are meteorites with a cometary origin is still a subject of discussion. It is possible that some rare, very brittle carbon-rich meteorites originate from short-period comets. Much of the space debris that hits the atmosphere does not reach Earth and burns up due to atmospheric drag. These burnt fragments are visible at night as meteors, also known as meteor showers or shooting stars. Larger fragments that do not burn up completely and fall to Earth as meteorites create a bolide, or fireball, when they pass through the atmosphere. An example of an impressive bolide is that of the Sikhote-Alin, which was very clearly visible even in daylight. The fireball caused by the Glanerbrug meteorite in the Netherlands in April 1990 was visible just before sunset.