Why do meteorites matter to me?
Meteorites help explain where Earth, its water and even the ingredients of life came from, and studying them helps protect our planet.
Meteorites might seem far away from everyday life, but they are connected to you in surprising ways.
Where you came from. The atoms in your body, such as the carbon in your cells, the calcium in your bones and the iron in your blood, were made inside stars long before the Sun existed. Meteorites contain tiny grains of that ancient stardust. They help scientists understand how those atoms ended up on Earth and in you.
Water and life. Some meteorites contain water locked in minerals and chemicals such as amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. Scientists think space rocks may have brought some of Earth's water and some of the ingredients for life to our planet billions of years ago.
Earth's history. A giant space rock helped end the age of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, which allowed mammals, and eventually humans, to spread across the planet.
Keeping Earth safe. Studying meteorites and asteroids helps scientists understand what dangerous space rocks are made of and how they might be pushed away from Earth if ever needed.
Wonder. Holding a meteorite means holding something older than the Earth, which has travelled for millions of years through space. That is pretty amazing!
So meteorites are part of your story. Every time you see a shooting star, you are seeing a little piece of the history of the Solar System.