Meteoroids are small pieces of debris leftover from the formation of the Solar System some 4,500 million years ago. They can be seen flashing across the sky as Shooting Stars.

Every day, tonnes of meteoroids enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed. Friction with the air heats the meteoroids to white-hot, and most vaporize completely in an air catching display known as a meteor or shooting star.

Most meteoroids are very small. They can produce a spectacular display when they enter the earth’s atmosphere. Larger meteoroids survive the journey to earth and are known as meteorites.