Lunar meteorite
A rock knocked off the Moon by an impact that later fell to Earth.
A lunar meteorite is a piece of the Moon that travelled to Earth all by itself. When asteroids smash into the Moon, they can throw rocks fast enough to escape its weak gravity. A few of those rocks eventually land on our planet.
The first one recognised was found in Antarctica in 1982 and is called Allan Hills 81005. Scientists compared it with Moon rocks collected by the Apollo astronauts between 1969 and 1972 and saw they matched. Since then, a few hundred lunar meteorites have been found, mostly in hot deserts and Antarctica. They are important because the Apollo missions only visited a few places near the middle of the Moon's near side, while meteorites can come from anywhere, including the far side.
Many lunar meteorites are breccias: rocks made of broken bits stuck together. Light-coloured ones come from the bright highlands and contain lots of white feldspar. Dark ones come from the smooth lava plains, called maria. They usually have little or no metal, so a magnet may not stick. Only a laboratory can prove a rock is from the Moon, so if you find something unusual, show an adult and an expert.
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Level: Beginner Ages 7 and up