Meteorites small and large have probably fallen unnoticed almost everywhere on Earth.
Thinly populated areas, such as Australia and the Antarctic, are popular hunting grounds for meteorites because the meteorites remain undisturbed.
The impact of a large meteorite generally makes a deep impression, called a crater, on Earth’s surface.
The most recent large meteorite, with a crater about 4,200 feet (1,270 km) across and 600 feet (180 m) deep, fell some 25,000 years ago near Winslow, Arizona.
The crater is open to visitors and is big with tourists.
The largest or biggest meteorite in the world known to man, the Hoba West meteorite in Namibia, Africa, weighs an estimated 66 tons, or 60 metric tons.
It still lies where it fell.
Most meteorites weigh in at around 2 pounds, or about 1 kg.
They may drop to Earth in a shower, the result of a larger meteorite breaking up in the atmosphere.
A number of meteorites, called SNC types, S, N, and C are the initial letters of three towns, one each in India, France, and Egypt, where they were first noted, may have resulted from collisions on the Moon or Mars.
Most natural history museums have meteorites on display.
