A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to land on the surface of a planet or a moon.

Most meteorites are stony meteorites, classed as chondrites and achondrites. Only about 6% of meteorites are iron meteorites or a blend of rock and metal, the stony-iron meteorites.

About 5% of meteorites that have been seen to fall are iron meteorites composed of iron- nickel alloys

About 1% are stony-iron meteorites. This includes the pallasites which are iron containing crystals of peridot.

Tektites (from Greek τηκτός tēktós, “molten”) are gravel-sized bodies composed of black, green, brown, or gray natural glass They are not meteorites but are formed by the impacts of large meteorites on Earth’s surface. Tektites are found in a number of places around the world, with several being very popular:

Moldavite, from the Czech Republic, is a greenish gem quality tektite.

Libyan desert glass, another tektite, was formed from a meteorite striking near the border of Libya and Egypt. King Tut had a scarab made from Libyan desert glass on his chest when Howard Carter discovered his tomb.

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