The Earth’s atmosphere protects us from the multitude of small debris the size of grains of sand or pebbles, thousands of which pelt our planet everyday. The meteors in our night sky are visible evidence of this small debris burning up high in the atmosphere. In fact, up to a diameter of about 10 metres, most stony meteoroids are destroyed in the atmosphere in thermal explosions.
Obviously, some fragments do reach the ground because we have stony meteorites in our museums. Such falls are known to cause property damage from time to time.
On 26 June 2025, a meteorite crashed into the roof of a home in Atlanta, Georgia. The cherry tomato-sized fragment was believed to be from a larger meteor that exploded over the state. The meteorite struck the roof like a bullet and left a dent on the home’s floor.
Originally published in the January 2006 issue of estidotmy.