Abstract
Meteorites are rocky or metalliferous fragments that have been ejected from
a body of the solar system following impacts with other bodies, and arriving on Earth
after traveling more or less long in space. The majority of meteorites come from the
asteroid belt (rocky bodies orbiting between Mars and Jupiter), and some other
meteorites of lower frequency, can arrive from the Moon or the planet Mars. Meteorites
provide information about the early stages of the evolution of our solar system in
general and Earth in particular, as they contain information about protosolar and even
presolar material. In this article, we will present an exhaustive synthesis of the
formation and origin of meteorites, their categorization into “falls” and “finds”
according to the circumstances of their discovery, the criteria for their identification,
and the guidelines adopted for the nomenclature of meteorites falls and finds, and their
classification.