Meteoroid

Meteoroid, Meteor, & Meteorite

(Cosmos)

Type

Meteoroid

Adjective

Meteoroidal; Meteoric, Meteoritic, Meteorous; Meteoritical

Diameter

Varies

Mass

Varies

See also: Asteroid and comet

A meteoroid is a small part of an asteroid, comet, or other space-borne debris ranging in size from a grain of sand to a few feet in diameter. As it travels through Golarion's atmosphere it becomes very hot and bright, leaving a streak across the sky that is known as a meteor, but more commonly called as a shooting star or falling star. If it survives passage through the atmosphere and impacts the ground, it is called a meteorite.

Impacts on Golarion

While even small meteorite strikes can be destructive, larger impacts can be cataclysmic.

The biggest meteorite ever to impact Golarion was the Starstone, which was pulled from the heavens by the ancient alghollthus to punish the Azlanti people. Its impact caused global destruction, created the Inner Sea, and plunged the world into the thousand year-long Age of Darkness. A more recent (and far less destructive) meteorite impact occurred in 4708 AR on the island of Devil's Elbow, located in the Varisian Gulf off the coast of Riddleport. Much to the surprise of locals, it contained significant deposits of the skymetal noqual.