Meteorite name
A meteorite name is its official label, usually taken from the place where it fell or was found.
Every officially recognised meteorite has a unique name, and most are named after the nearest town, village, river or landmark to where it fell or was found. Winchcombe, which fell in 2021, is named after the small town in Gloucestershire, England, where its largest piece landed on a driveway. Murchison is named after the town in Victoria, Australia, where it fell in 1969.
In some places, such as Antarctica and the Sahara, so many meteorites are found that there are not enough place names. There, meteorites are named after a region followed by a number. ALH 84001 means Allan Hills, Antarctica, and the number tells you it was collected in the 1984 field season and was the first catalogued from that season. Meteorites bought from finders in the Sahara whose exact find site is unknown get a Northwest Africa (NWA) number, such as NWA 7034.
Names matter because they let scientists, museums and collectors around the world talk about exactly the same meteorite. A real name is approved by the Meteoritical Society's Nomenclature Committee. If someone sells a "meteorite" with a name you cannot find in the official records, be careful.
Related terms
Level: Explorer Ages 10 and up