Basic Issues on Meteorites: Origin, Formation, Identification, Nomenclature

Abstract

Meteorites are rocky or metalliferous fragments that have been ejected from a body of the solar system following impacts with other bodies, and arriving on Earth after traveling more or less long in space. The majority of meteorites come from the asteroid belt (rocky bodies orbiting between Mars and Jupiter), and some other meteorites of lower frequency, can arrive from the Moon or the planet Mars. Meteorites provide information about the early stages of the evolution of our solar system in general and Earth in particular, as they contain information about protosolar and even presolar material. In this article, we will present an exhaustive synthesis of the formation and origin of meteorites, their categorization into “falls” and “finds” according to the circumstances of their discovery, the criteria for their identification, and the guidelines adopted for the nomenclature of meteorites falls and finds, and their classification.