Types of Meteorites
Meteorite Science
Meteorites are divided into three main classes based on their composition: stony, iron, and stony-iron. Within each class are distinct groups and subgroups that reflect the geological history of their parent bodies.
The Three Main Classes
Classification tells scientists and collectors what kind of meteorite they are dealing with and provides direct clues about its origin, age, and geological history. When a meteorite is formally studied and confirmed, it is documented in the Meteoritical Bulletin, the international registry for classified meteorites.
Stony Meteorites
Stony meteorites account for approximately 94% of all recovered meteorites. They are composed primarily of silicate minerals, but the two major subgroups — chondrites and achondrites — represent fundamentally different geological histories.
Chondrites
Chondrites are the most primitive meteorites. Their parent asteroids never melted or underwent large-scale differentiation, preserving the original composition of the early solar system in near-original form. Chondrites are named for the chondrules they contain, tiny spherical objects formed when droplets of molten silicate material rapidly cooled in the early solar nebula. Chondrules are among the oldest solid objects in the solar system.
Ordinary Chondrites
Ordinary chondrites (H, L, and LL groups) are the most common meteorites on Earth. They are divided by their iron content: H group has high total iron, L group has low iron, and LL group has both low iron and low metallic iron. Despite being called "ordinary," they are genuinely ancient extraterrestrial objects typically 4.5 billion years old.
NWA 17364 LL3.10 ordinary chondrite, 3.25g end cut. A primitive chondrite with well-defined chondrules visible in the cut face.
Carbonaceous Chondrites
Carbonaceous chondrites (CI, CM, CV, CO, CK, CR, CH, CB groups) are among the most scientifically valuable meteorites. They contain water-bearing minerals, organic compounds including amino acids, and presolar grains that predate the solar system itself. CI carbonaceous chondrites have a bulk composition that closely matches the Sun's photosphere, the closest known match to the original solar nebula composition.
Murchison CM2 carbonaceous chondrite, 2.18g. Fine-grained phyllosilicate matrix with embedded chondrules under polish.
Enstatite Chondrites
Enstatite chondrites (EH and EL groups) formed under highly reducing conditions, producing unusual minerals not found elsewhere in the solar system. They are thought to have formed in the inner solar system, closer to the Sun than ordinary chondrites.
Ait Saoun EH3 enstatite chondrite, 7.88g complete individual with full fusion crust. Witnessed fall, Morocco, 2024.
Achondrites
Achondrites come from parent bodies that melted and differentiated, separating into a metallic core, rocky mantle, and basaltic crust. They lack chondrules because the high-temperature geological processing on their parent bodies erased the original chondritic texture. Achondrites include some of the most scientifically significant and collectibly rare meteorite types.
HED Meteorites
The HED group (howardites, eucrites, diogenites) originates from asteroid 4 Vesta, confirmed by NASA's Dawn mission. Eucrites are basaltic surface rocks, diogenites are deeper crustal material, and howardites are impact-mixed breccias of the two.
NWA 18048 eucrite-pmict, 1,530.00g end cut main mass. HED achondrite from asteroid 4 Vesta.
Angrites
Angrites are from one of the oldest and most compositionally extreme parent bodies known, highly oxidized, volatile-depleted, and among the earliest differentiated bodies in the solar system.
Angrites are among the oldest differentiated meteorites known, with some crystallization ages exceeding 4.55 billion years.
Aubrites
Aubrites (enstatite achondrites) come from a parent body that formed under the same highly reducing conditions as enstatite chondrites. They are pale, almost white in appearance and among the most visually distinctive achondrites.
Browse AubritesUreilites
Ureilites are carbon-rich achondrites with an unusual composition that has not been definitively linked to a single confirmed parent body. They remain one of the more enigmatic groups in meteorite science.
Lunar Meteorites
Lunar meteorites are rocks ejected from the Moon by large impacts. They include mare basalts, highland anorthosites, and brecciated mixtures of both. They are identified by their mineralogy and chemistry, which closely match the samples returned by the Apollo missions.
Rabt Sbayta 007 lunar meteorite, 4.00g. Light-toned feldspar clasts in dark shock-melt matrix showing regolith brecciation.
Martian Meteorites
Martian meteorites (SNC group: shergottites, nakhlites, chassignites) come from Mars, identified through trapped gas compositions matching the Martian atmosphere as measured by the Viking landers.
Amgala 001 Martian shergottite, 40.80g complete individual. Mounted on included crescent display stand with titanium scale cube.
Iron Meteorites
Iron meteorites are composed primarily of iron-nickel alloy and represent the metallic cores of differentiated asteroids. They account for approximately 5% of recovered meteorites but are disproportionately represented in historical collections because their metal composition makes them resistant to weathering and visually distinctive.
Iron meteorites are classified into chemical groups (IAB, IIIAB, IVA, IVB, and others) based on trace element ratios, particularly gallium, germanium, iridium, and nickel content. Each group is believed to represent a distinct parent body or family of parent bodies. The IAB group is the largest and most diverse; the IVB group contains some of the highest-nickel irons known.
When cut, polished, and etched with acid, most iron meteorites reveal the Widmanstätten pattern, an interlocking crystal structure of kamacite and taenite bands that formed over millions of years of extremely slow cooling inside an asteroid. This pattern is impossible to fake and is diagnostic of a genuine iron meteorite.
Muonionalusta IVA fine octahedrite, 292.00g etched slice. The Widmanstätten pattern visible here formed over millions of years of slow cooling in an asteroid core.
Stony-Iron Meteorites
Stony-iron meteorites contain roughly equal proportions of silicate minerals and iron-nickel metal. They are the rarest of the three main classes, comprising less than 2% of recovered meteorites. They are thought to represent boundary zones within differentiated asteroids, the region where the metallic core met the silicate mantle.
Pallasites
Pallasites are the most visually striking meteorite type. They consist of gem-quality olivine crystals, sometimes transparent and honey-colored, sometimes green, suspended in a metallic iron-nickel matrix. When sliced thin and backlit, pallasite slices are among the most beautiful objects in natural science.
Gyarub Zangbo ungrouped pallasite, 94.90g etched and stabilized slice. Gem-quality olivine crystals suspended in an iron-nickel matrix.
Mesosiderites
Mesosiderites are more chaotically mixed stony-irons, with silicate and metallic material interleaved in an irregular breccia structure. They are scientifically interesting and less visually uniform than pallasites, with a distinctive coarse-grained texture.
Browse Stony-Iron MeteoritesThe Meteoritical Bulletin
When a meteorite is scientifically studied and confirmed, it is officially documented in the Meteoritical Bulletin database, maintained by the Meteoritical Society. This international registry is the authoritative source for meteorite names, classifications, recovery data, and find locations. A meteorite without a Meteoritical Bulletin entry has not been formally classified.
Classified meteorites carry a formal record of their type, find location, and weight. Unclassified meteorites may still be genuine extraterrestrial material, but their scientific identity has not yet been formally established through laboratory analysis.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the three main types of meteorites?
Stony meteorites, iron meteorites, and stony-iron meteorites. Stony meteorites are by far the most common, accounting for roughly 94% of all recovered specimens.
What is a chondrite?
A chondrite is a primitive stony meteorite that contains chondrules, tiny spherical structures formed in the early solar nebula. Chondrites come from asteroids that never melted and are some of the oldest solid material in the solar system.
What is the difference between a chondrite and an achondrite?
Chondrites are primitive and contain chondrules. Achondrites come from parent bodies that melted and differentiated, erasing the original chondritic texture. Achondrites include rocks from asteroid 4 Vesta, the Moon, and Mars.
Where are meteorites officially classified?
In the Meteoritical Bulletin database, maintained by the Meteoritical Society. This is the international registry for all formally recognized meteorites.
What is the rarest type of meteorite?
Stony-iron meteorites are the rarest class overall. Among individual types, lunar and Martian meteorites are exceptionally rare, representing a tiny fraction of all known specimens.
What is the Widmanstätten pattern?
The Widmanstätten pattern is an interlocking crystal structure of kamacite and taenite bands visible in cut and etched iron meteorites. It forms over millions of years of slow cooling inside an asteroid and cannot be replicated artificially, making it one of the most definitive confirmations of a genuine iron meteorite.
