How meteorites caught fire in atmosphere?
When meteorites strike the atmosphere, they ‘burn up’. But a more precise description is that they become so hot from the friction caused when they strike the atmosphere, that the vaporise. most meteorites contain metal and silicates, so wouldn’t ‘burn’ in the normal sense; although the matal (mostly nickel and iron) could oxidise. Most meteorites we see as ‘shooting stars’ are pretty small – some no larger than a speck of dust, most smaller that a grain of wheat. Larger ones, weighing a kilogram or more will not heat sufficiently to vaporise, and may last long enough to hit the earth’s surface 9many have a surface that has been melted by the friction). The direct answer to your question is that the meteorites themselves provide the ‘fuel’.
