How are meteorites named?

A new meteorite shall be named after a nearby geographical locality. Every effort should be made to avoid unnecessary duplication or ambiguity, and to select a permanent feature which appears on widely used maps and is sufficiently close to the recovery site to convey meaningful locality information. read more

This section provides links to information concerning the ways in which meteorites are named. Unambiguous and reliable meteorite names are indispensable to anyone with an interest in meteorites - citizens, writers, scientists, and collectors alike. read more

There is a complete set of guidelines for meteorite nomenclature issued by The Meteoritical Society - Guidelines for meteorite nomenclature. For a new meteorite, the naming is done as follows: A new meteorite shall be named after a nearby geographical locality. read more

A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the Earth's atmosphere and impact with the Earth's surface or that of another planet. read more

Meteorite names This section provides links to information concerning the ways in which meteorites are named. Unambiguous and reliable meteorite names are indispensable to anyone with an interest in meteorites - citizens, writers, scientists, and collectors alike. read more

Meteorites are always named for the places they were found, usually a nearby town or geographic feature. In cases where many meteorites were found in one place, the name may be followed by a number or letter (e.g., Allan Hills 84001 or Dimmitt (b)). read more