A mini-site exploring the characteristics of the 20 largest meteorites in the NASA Meteorite Landings dataset.
This dataset from NASA depicts information about discovered and observed meteorites from 1575 onwards. I wanted to find out whether the largest meteorites in the dataset share any common characteristics.
I used the original NASA Meteorite Landings dataset and sorted the records by mass, and specifically observed the 20 largest meteorites. I then compared their classification, fall status, year, and location.
The strongest pattern is that within their classification, 17 of the 20 largest meteorites are classified as iron meteorites. This means that 85% of the largest records in this group are iron.
Another pattern is in regards to how the meteorites were recorded. 18 of the 20 were marked as "Found," while only 2 were recorded as having actually been observed falling.
Use the navigation above to explore the full dataset, analysis, and glossary of terms.