Magnificent Meteoroids, Meteors, and Meteorites

“Can there be anyone on Earth who has not been struck by the phosphorescent lights that glide through the somber night, leaving a brilliant silver or golden track – the luminous, ephemeral trail of a meteor?... sometimes … a shining speck is seem to detach itself … from the starry vault, shooting lightly through the constellations to lose itself in the infinitude of space … Those bewitching sparks attract our eyes and chain our senses. Fascinating celestial fireflies, their dainty flames dart in every direction through space, sowing the fine dust of their gilded wings upon the fields of heaven. They are born to die; their life is only a breath; yet the impression which they make upon the imagination of mortals is sometimes very profound.”- Camille Flammarion t is of no doubt that meteors and meteorites have captured the imaginations and hearts of man throughout the history of the Earth. Historically, there have been numerous religious and superstitious associations ascribed to meteorites. In many cases throughout time, and even to the present, humans have reacted to these visitations by enshrining the celestial objects as consecrated or even ominous visitors. For instance, it has been reported from India that it was necessary for officers of the Geological Survey to immediately descend upon the impact location when a report of a fal