Meteorite impact. Sequence of illustrations showing the impact of a meteorite on the surface of the Earth. A meteorite is an object from space which has passed through the atmosphere, heating up to incandescence. Striking the Earth, it produces a shock wave (left panel), and much of it vaporizes (centre left panel). Landslides (centre right panel) partially fill the impact crater, and a rebound (right panel) produces a central peak uplift with a granitic core (grey).