Adult course: Meteorites from first principles

Twelve lessons for adult learners: where meteorites come from, how falls are tracked and recovered, how they are classified and dated, what they reveal about the birth of the Solar System, water and the ingredients of life, impacts in Earth's history, and how to identify, collect and care for them responsibly.

This course assumes no science beyond what most people remember from school. Each lesson explains one big idea clearly, introduces the terms specialists use, and points you to the pages on this site where you can go deeper. Where numbers help, a short worked example shows the reasoning step by step.

The lessons build on each other from the basics to the research frontier and the practicalities of finding and owning meteorites. Allow about 30 to 45 minutes for each.

1. 1What falls from the skyEvery day Earth sweeps up tonnes of material from space, almost all of it as dust. This lesson sets out the vocabulary and the scale of what arrives.
2. 2The journey from the asteroid beltMost meteorites begin as fragments of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter. This lesson follows the long, slow route that brings a few of them to Earth.
3. 3Fireballs, camera networks and recoveryModern camera networks can turn a few seconds of light into a meteorite in a museum within days. This lesson explains how, and how members of the public help.
4. 4How meteorites are classifiedTens of thousands of meteorites are sorted into a system of classes and groups. This lesson explains the main branches and what the labels on a meteorite mean.
5. 5Chondrites and the birth of the Solar SystemChondrites are the least changed rocks we have. Their components formed in the disc around the young Sun and date the start of the Solar System.
6. 6Worlds that meltedSome early asteroids melted and separated into core, mantle and crust, then were shattered. Iron meteorites, pallasites and the HED meteorites from Vesta are their pieces.
7. 7Rocks from the Moon and MarsSeveral hundred meteorites are pieces of the Moon or Mars, thrown off by impacts. This lesson explains how they were identified and what they have revealed.
8. 8Dating meteoritesA meteorite has several ages: when it formed, when it was broken off its parent body, and how long it has been on Earth. Each is measured with a different isotope clock.
9. 9Water and the ingredients of lifeSome meteorites carry water locked in minerals and a rich chemistry of carbon compounds, including amino acids and nucleobases. Samples returned from asteroids have confirmed it.
10. 10Impacts in Earth's historyImpacts have shaped Earth from its formation to the present. This lesson looks at craters, the end of the dinosaurs, modern airbursts and how the risk is managed.
11. 11Identifying a possible meteoriteMost rocks people suspect are meteorites turn out to be Earth rocks or industrial slag. This lesson gives a reliable sequence of checks and explains what only a laboratory can confirm.
12. 12Collecting, the law and caring for meteoritesMeteorites are both scientific specimens and collectable objects. This final lesson covers ownership, export rules, ethics and how to store specimens so they last.

How it links to what you study

• Foundations: what meteorites are, where they come from and how they reach Earth (lessons 1 to 3).
• Classification and origins: chondrites, achondrites, irons and stony-irons, and rocks from the Moon and Mars (lessons 4 to 7).
• Methods: radiometric dating and isotopes (lesson 8).
• Big questions: water, organic molecules, impacts and planetary defence (lessons 9 and 10).
• Practice: identifying a possible meteorite, the law, ethics and caring for specimens (lessons 11 and 12).

Each lesson has learning goals, a short activity and a five-question quiz. Finish every quiz to unlock the printable certificate. Your progress is saved on this device only.