The Project

Meteorite landings map is a small project from a first year Computer Science student aiming at practicing web development by creating a website that fetches JSON data from an API.
After fetching it, the data is then manipulated and displayed on the map.

How does it work?

The data is fetched from the NASA dataset API and displayed on the map powered by Leaflet JS. The clustering is made possible via Leaflet.markercluster, a Leaflet JS plugin.

The Data

There are around 45700 entries, but only around 32000 are displayed on the map. This is because about 6200 objects have no coordinates, therefore they would be grouped in one single point. Trying to open this large cluster could cause the page to stop working, therefore, I have decided to omit the data of these objects.

In Antartica, three big clusters on the same coordinates respectively can be found. 1505 meteorite fragments belong to Asuka, 4761 to Yamato and 3040 to Queen Alexandra Range. Opening these clusters may take some time.

So where are the 6000 missing meteorites? Likely there are some keys missing in the endpoint which are causing the data to remain hidden, but it may not be it. Nevetheless, I am working to bring the wandering objects to the map.

How do I recognise a meteorite?

This guide from the United States government can help identifying meteorites from other rocks. The government guide was created with the information found in the Meteorite Museum from the University of New Mexico.

Want to know more about meteorites?

Have a look at this research paper that analyzes and correlates the data contained in the dataset that was also used for the map.
It is also worth checking the Meteoritical Society website.

What is the difference between meteorites, meteors, meteoroids and asteroids?

Well, in a nutshell, meteorites are rocks that fell on Earth (or any planet or moon) and are now found on its surface.
A meteor is the short passage of a space rock through the atmosphere. It becomes visible due to the intense heath originated from the friction between the object and the air molecules.
Meteoroids are just tiny asteroids up to a meter in diameter.
And comets? Comets are celestial objects that contain frozen water and gasses. They are different than asteroids as the latter composition is mainly rocky or metallic. Hence, this is why the tail is not a feature of asteroids.