meteoritics

Definition

The science that deals with meteors, meteorites, and meteoroids.

Etymology

From meteorite + -ics.

Example Sentences

• "From the beginning of the nineteenth century forward, meteoritics progressed steadily to an exacting and highly interdisciplinary field."
• "Following the precedents set in previous editions of the Catalogue of Meteorites, it is not the intention of this Introduction to discuss the science of meteoritics, but simply to provide a summary of the nomenclature and classification of meteorites and the system of entries adopted."
• "Meteoritics, the laboratory study of meteorites, was regarded as our best window on events at the time of the origin of the planets even before their age could be measured.[…]Recently, discoveries in both meteoritics and asteroid research have brought forward several interesting connections with comets, and even the Voyager revelation of the nature of ice-rich satellites has influenced our understanding of meteorite origins."

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