Meteors and Meteorites - Classification

Classification

Meteorites are classified according to the amount of silicate and metallic nickel-iron that they contain. Three main meteorite types are recognized; these are the irons, the stones, and the stony-irons. The iron meteorites consist almost entirely of nickel-iron, while the stone meteorites are mostly silicates. The stony-iron meteorites contain both nickel-iron and silicates. The stony meteorites are further divided into chondrites and achondrites. The term chondrite (pronounced "kon-drite") is applied if the meteorite is composed of many small, rounded fragments (called chondrules) bound together in a silicate matrix. If no chondrules are present then the meteorite is an achondrite. Most (about 85%) of the stony meteorites are chondrites. Meteorite fall statistics indicates that about 96% of meteorites are stony, 3% are irons and 1% are stony-irons.