Older than deep time - Meteors and Meteorites
What falls from the sky
Every night, Earth is struck by tiny fragments of ancient rock and metal drifting through space. Most burn up in the atmosphere — those bright streaks we call meteors. But a few survive the fall. These are meteorites: pieces of the early solar system that land on our planet intact.
Older than Earth itself
While the rocks beneath our feet are hundreds of millions of years old, meteorites are typically 4.5 billion years old — formed before Earth finished assembling. They are fragments of the first solid objects to condense out of the solar nebula, the dusty disk that eventually became the Sun, planets, moons, and asteroids.
Holding a meteorite is holding material from the time before time — the era when the solar system was still a swirling cloud of fire and dust.
Where meteorites come from
Most meteorites originate from:
• The asteroid belt — broken pieces of early planetesimals
• Ancient collisions — fragments blasted off proto‑planets
• Metallic cores — iron meteorites from shattered bodies
• Primitive chondrites — unchanged since the dawn of the solar system
Each type carries a different chapter of cosmic history.
Types of meteorites
- Iron meteorites
Dense, metallic, and often etched with the famous Widmanstätten patterns — crystalline structures that form only during millions of years of slow cooling in space. - Stony meteorites (chondrites)The most common type. They contain chondrules — tiny molten droplets frozen in time from the earliest days of the solar system.
- Stony‑iron meteorites (pallasites)
Among the most beautiful natural materials known. Olivine crystals suspended in an iron‑nickel matrix — the boundary layer between a planetesimal’s core and mantle.
Why people collect them
Meteorites appeal to those who feel the pull of Deep Time — but want to go deeper still. They are:
• tangible pieces of cosmic history
• older than any rock on Earth
• scientifically significant
• rare and finite
• humbling to hold
A meteorite is not just a specimen. It’s a relic from the universe’s early architecture.
** A note for visitors
We don’t stock meteorites yet. This page exists because we’re exploring the idea — and because Deep Time doesn’t end at Earth’s surface. If this topic resonates, we may add a small, carefully chosen selection in the future. Let us know!
