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{What are Meteorites} {Iron Meteorites} {Glass Meteorites} {Rock Meteorites} {Jewellery from Meteorites} {Links to other Meteorite Sites}
Meteorites
If you thought our pages were out of this world you cant be closer to the truth when you enter this section.
If it was not for the impact of meteorites on this planet the human race would most likely be cold blooded and still be hiding in caves fearing our reptilian masters. Meteorites have mystified mankind since earliest recorded history. The force of a meteorite fall or the spectacular light effects of a large specimen passing through the atmosphere have influenced mans religious beliefs for thousands of years.
Meteorites are no longer a mystery but a part of life. We are fortunate that our atmosphere protects us from all bar the largest specimens and these are extremely rare so recorded fallings are few and far between. Every century there are some well noted falls with the Siberian disaster being the largest this century. Imagine hundreds of square kilometres of forests levelled like match stick, an area hundreds of times larger than Hiroshima destroyed by a force far more powerful than any atomic bomb we have today. Believed now to have been a meteorite made from ice, this specimen was thought to have exploded in the lower atmosphere and never impacted with the ground yet creating massive devastation, such was its force.
The planet earth like the surface of the moon has many impact sites ( craters ). Erosion over millions of years make these hard to find, every country has its well known craters. Meteorites have often fallen in showers with hundreds even thousands of pieces hitting the planet often over large areas. Others enter the atmosphere and melt or explode forming huge amounts of smaller pieces or droplets that eventually hit the planet.
The hobby of meteorite collecting has now grown to becoming a major past time with many collectors. The demand has meant that larger areas are now being searched and over the past 20 years our knowledge of meteorites has expanded dramatically. Collectors Corner is Australia's leading non government authority on meteorites with links to dealers, collectors and museums around the world.
Browse through the following pages and better understand this things that are truly out of this world.
{What are Meteorites} { Metal Meteorites} {Glass Meteorites} {Stony Meteorites}
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