The Ultimate Meteorite Quiz

When a meteoroid enters a planet's atmosphere, it becomes a meteor. If that meteor survives the friction of re-entry and makes landfall, then it becomes a meteorite.

Many experts believe the Black Stone to be a meteorite. Housed in the Kaaba within the Great Mosque of Mecca, the Islamic relic consists of several black fragments surrounded by silver.

The Nakhla meteorite reportedly killed a dog when it touched down on June 28, 1911, in Egypt. Chicxulub was charged with an even greater crime: snuffing out most of the life on Earth 65 million years ago. Hoba, on the other hand, may very well be innocent. The 60-ton bad boy may be the largest known meteorite on the planet, but it was only discovered in 1920, roughly 80,000 years after it slammed into Earth. It could have killed thousands of dogs for all we know, but who's gonna prove it?

Close to 20,000 meteors weighing 3.5-ounces (0.1-kilograms) or more enter the atmosphere every day. Go smaller, and the count quickly gets downright astronomic. Meteorites the size of dust particles enter the atmosphere each day by the billions.

The Clackamas viewed the Willamette Meteorite as a representative of the sky people and a source of potent healing energy. Members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon continue to make annual ceremonial visits to see Tomanowos at the American Museum of Natural History.

Sorry, there's no science to back up those healing meteorites you find in New Age crystal shops. Yet humans have crafted swords and jewelry from meteoric iron since ancient times, and you can even bounce a radio transmission off meteor ion trails in the atmosphere to help convey the signal over long distances.

In one of the most analyzed meteor strikes ever, this particular piece of the heavens seared U.S. skies from Kentucky to Pittsburgh. Then it touched down in Peekskill, NY, thumping a 1980 Chevy Malibu in the trunk. The car would later tour the world, more an item of interest than the cosmic fragment that hit it.

Peru's Mining, Metallurgy and Geology Institute confirmed that a meteorite did crash in the area and that the impact stirred up arsenic fumes. Some of the cases, however, were attributed to a psychosomatic reaction.

At 186 miles (299 kilometers) wide, the 2-billion-year-old Vredefort Dome in South Africa is the site of the biggest impact crater on Earth.

Both the Leonid and Perseid Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through a comet's trail. The Leonid shower is due to the Temple-Tuttle comet, which passes near Earth's orbit every 33 years. The Perseid shower is caused by the comet Swift-Tuttle, which speeds through roughly every 130 years.