Read the latest positive news, breakthroughs, and inspiring stories about meteorites, curated daily by BrightWire.
Long before spacecraft visited distant worlds, meteorites were delivering cosmic samples to Earth for free. These ancient space rocks continue to reveal the Solar System's birth story and guide modern exploration.
Researchers studying 75 meteorites discovered that space rocks go through seven distinct phases as they journey through our atmosphere, losing up to 40% of their mass along the way. The breakthrough could help us better prepare for potentially dangerous asteroids heading toward Earth.
A meteorite that punched through a New Jersey bedroom ceiling is giving scientists new clues about how space rocks delivered the ingredients for life to early Earth. The rare space visitor contains ancient salty chemistry and organic compounds never before seen in this type of meteorite.
A rare meteorite from the Sahara reveals it came from a massive, moon-sized world that existed in our solar system's first four million years. The discovery rewrites what we know about how quickly planets formed in our cosmic neighborhood.
India's Chandrayaan-3 rover discovered that soil near the Moon's South Pole matches a meteorite found in Antarctica 44 years ago, solving a cosmic mystery. The breakthrough confirms theories about the Moon's ancient molten ocean and shows how asteroid impacts reshaped its surface.
Scientists discovered that a rare, kaleidoscopic meteorite found in the Sahara Desert could be the first evidence of an ancient protoplanet that once orbited our sun. The Mars-sized world existed billions of years ago before shattering into fragments that occasionally fall to Earth.
Astronomers just measured the mass of a dormant black hole from when the universe was young, using the James Webb Space Telescope and a cosmic magnifying glass. The breakthrough could help us understand how the first galaxies formed.
A meteorite discovered in the Sahara Desert is revealing the existence of an ancient planet that orbited our young Sun billions of years ago. This rare space rock is helping scientists unlock mysteries about how our solar system formed.
A cosmic dust trap just past Jupiter's orbit churned out wildly different space rocks for millions of years, revealing how our Solar System's building blocks formed. The discovery finally explains why ancient meteorites that crash to Earth come in such varied types.
Researchers at Rice University recreated Mercury's mysterious surface rocks in their lab using a meteorite recipe, unlocking secrets about our solar system's most elusive planet. The breakthrough reveals how sulfur transforms planetary surfaces in ways never seen on Earth.
Astronauts flying past the moon's far side witnessed something incredibly rare: six meteorites striking the lunar surface in real time, creating brilliant flashes of light. It's the first time humans have directly observed these cosmic collisions during a mission.
Scientists studying microscopic crystals older than our sun are discovering our solar system may have formed from massive star winds, not an explosive supernova. These tiny grains, preserved in meteorites, offer humanity's only window into the moments before our cosmic home existed.