astronomy

[dpcarter007]

where do most meteorites come from

[Clanad]

It should be noted that there's a distinct, albeit, technical difference between meteors and meteorites. Simply speaking, meteorites that cross Earth's orbit mostly originate in the Main Asteroid Belt that occupies the space between Mars and Jupiter,. This vast belt of various sized meteorites (technically known as chondrules seems to have originated itself, as a remnant of the accretion of gas and dust that produced not only our Sun, but the planetary bodies as well. Meteorites are some of the oldest known things in the solar system, most being nearly 4.5 billion years old or about as old as the Earth...

[Teddio]

Just to add to Clanad's excellent answer, meteors are seen as streaks of light across the sky ("shooting stars") and completely burn up before reaching the Earth's surface. They are small grains of solid material derived from comets. When the Earth intersects the orbital path of a comet it "sweeps up" the cometary debris and we see, weather permitting, a meteor shower.

[jake-the-peg]

Nice site on meteorites here:

http://www.meteorite.fr/