meteorite : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: meteorite	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for meteorite
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
meteorite n stony or metallic object that is the remains of a meteoroid that has reached the earth's surface
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Meteorite \Me"teorite\, n. [Cf. F. m[82]t[82]orite.] (Min.) A mass of stone or iron which has fallen to the earth from space; an a[89]rolite. Note: Meteorites usually show a pitted surface with a fused crust, caused by the heat developed in their rapid passage through the earth's atmosphere. A meteorite may consist: 1. Of metallic iron, alloyed with a small percentage of nickel (meteoric iron, holosiderite). When etched this usually exhibits peculiar crystalline figures, called Widmanst[84]tten figures. 2. Of a cellular mass of iron with imbedded silicates (mesosiderite or siderolite). 3. Of a stony mass of silicates with little iron (meteoric stone, sporadosiderite). 4. Of a mass without iron (asiderite).