Meteorites – Rocks That Fall from the Sky

Every day, tonnes of material from space drift down through Earth's atmosphere, and every so often a fragment survives the fall intact enough to land in someone's paddock, or their letterbox. In this episode we trace the journey from meteoroid to meteor to meteorite, explore what these ancient fragments reveal about the birth of the solar system, and visit some of the extraordinary places on Earth, including Australia's own Nullarbor Plain, where they're found.

You'll come away understanding the difference between a meteoroid, a meteor and a meteorite, how atmospheric entry actually works, what the main types of meteorites tell us about the asteroids and planets they came from, why the Murchison meteorite is one of the most scientifically important rocks ever found on Australian soil, how impact craters form, and how scientists once dismissed the very idea of stones falling from the sky before painstaking evidence changed their minds.

Talking Science is sponsored by Kinsoft. Visit www.kinsoft.com.au

Further reading: NASA, Geoscience Australia, Museums Victoria, Australian Museum