What is the heaviest meteor to ever hit Earth?

Moleman

NO meteor has ever hit the Earth, since if they hit the earth they immediately become a meteorite (picky, but true)! The largest known meteorite is to be found at Grootfontein, South Africa and weighs 59 tons. Feb 19 01, 10:18 AM

cocomojoe

moleman I think you have that backwards i believe it is a meteor when it enters the earth's atmosphere and a metorite when it is still in space Feb 20 01, 11:07 PM

Moleman

Don't cross Moleman. Meteor: Transient, incandescent trail of a meteoroid entering the Earth's atmosphere. All the material burns up before reaching the ground. It is popularly referred to as a 'shooting star'. Source: A Dictionary of Earth Sciences, Oxford University Press 1999 Meteorite: Small, extraterrestrial bodies, most of which probably originate in the asteroid belt, that enter the Earth's atmosphere and land on the surface. Most are only a few centimetres in size. Meteorites are classified into four main groups according to their composition and structure as: Chondrites; achondrites; stony-irons; and irons. Source: A Dictionary of Earth Sciences, Oxford University Press 1999 While it is in space it is a meteroid. Meteoroid: Small, extraterrestrial body, within the solar system, that may enter the Earth's atmosphere if its orbit around the Sun crosses that of the Earth. Strictly, at the point where a meteoroid enters the atmosphere it is referred to as a meteor; if it reaches the Earth's surface it is known as a meteorite. Source: A Dictionary of Earth Sciences, Oxford University Press 1999 Feb 21 01, 9:57 AM