Meteorites - as well as shooting stars and meteors - result from a collision of a solid body from space with our Earth, but only meteorites are able to penetrate the Earth's protective shield, the atmosphere, and fall to the Earth's surface. Before the return of lunar samples, they were the only materials from beyond the Earth which we could take in hand and study.

This book gives a concise and up-to-date description of meteorites - fall phenomena, chemical and mineral composition, classification - as well as a discussion of their formation and origin, which also tells us the story of the formation of our Planetary System. The text is understandable for laymen and students, but can also be used as an introduction to the field for students and scientists.