Observing the atmospheric trajectory of these bodies allows us to calculate their orbits and, if a meteorite is recovered, give us the key spacial context to the information it holds. Meteorite falls observed using the DFN observatory helps to inform how a body interacts with the Earth’s atmosphere, how it decelerates, how bright the meteor is depending on the object, and the changes in mass whilst it falls. These have been used to date a more precise age of our Solar System (4.568 billion years). Highly primitive meteorites contain some of the first solids to have formed in our Solar system and have changed very little since their initial formation. Meteorites are special in that they preserve the histories of their parent bodies, giving us clues to planetary body formation and evolution over the last 4.56 billion years. Some meteorites also come from larger planetary bodies, such as the Moon and Mars. Asteroidal material can be bigger and, if the conditions are right, can survive the atmosphere and land on the ground as a meteorite. Small cometary dust usually burns up and never makes it to the ground. They can be travelling at speeds of up to 72 km a second and when they hit the atmosphere, it’s like someone turned on the brakes – they turn into a ball of fire. They are on different orbits to the Earth and can occasionally fly right into us. Rocky bodies in interplanetary space are of cometary or asteroidal origin. WHY OBSERVE FIREBALLS AND STUDY METEORITES?
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