An analysis of 75 meteorite falls identified seven distinct processes that occur as space rocks melt, break apart, and slow down before reaching the ground.

A space rock entering Earth’s atmosphere does far more than simply “burn up.” By examining 75 meteorite falls recorded in videos and photographs, researchers identified seven distinct stages that shape the transformation from incoming space rock to meteorite.

Their results show that melting and fragmentation, rather than evaporation alone, determine how these objects shed mass, lose speed, and eventually reach the ground. The findings were published in Meteoritics & Planetary Science.