METEORITES
Reading edition
Occasionally, however, some of these bodies do reach our earth, despite the friction and opposition of the earth’s atmosphere. Such bodies are called meteorites, siderites, or aerolites. Only a few of these are seen to strike the earth yearly, and it is a remarkable fact that, so far as we have any record, not one of them has ever struck a town or killed an individual. The outside of the meteorite during its passage through the air is subject to intense and sudden heating, and the rapid expansion of its surface-layers often breaks it into many fragments. The surface is fused and, on striking, cools rapidly. The result is that it has a black, glossy structure, usually with many small pits where the less refractive material has been melted out. Such meteorites may be seen in most large museums.