ScienceAugust 9, 2026
meteoroids
MEE-tee-uh-roydz
Definition
Small rocky or metallic particles in space that orbit the Sun.
Etymology
Derived from the Greek word 'meteoros', meaning 'lofty' or 'high in the air', combined with '-oid', indicating resemblance or form.
In the news
The article uses the term to explain how Mercury's surface is constantly impacted by space debris, which would eventually soften or erase small geological features like grabens.
Mercury is the Solar System’s smallest planet, but its metallic core fills about 85 per cent of its radius, leaving a rocky shell so thin that cooling has crumpled the surface into cliffs hundreds of kilometres long
Read the full article ↗Space Daily