Chondrite meteorite

 

I have to confess to knowing little about meteorites, nor even the difference between them and meteors. All this was put right by the Border Astronomical Society evening at Watchtree. Meteors get hot and burn up; essentially what I'd call a shooting star. Meteorites reach the ground intact. There's even a word I didn't know: meteoroid for the rock that can become either but for the time before it hits the atmosphere. And meteorites come in types. This is a chondrite meteorite. That means it is rocky rather than metal. The article explains that radioactive decay dating suggests it is as old as the Solar System at around 4.5 billion years old.