How meteorites caught fire in atmosphere?

Question

For fire to produce we need: oxygen, heat, fuel. In this case we have oxygen, heat (provided by friction), but what I do not know is where does the fuel come from.

Answer 1

They dont actually catch fire until they hit the atmosphere where there is oxygen.

Answer 2

Meteorite enter our atmosphere with high velocity. As a result  when they enter our atmosphere they get heated up due to the friction caused on its surface by the atmosphere. As a result they catch fire with the help and continue to burn with the help of oxygen prersent in upper atmosphere.

Answer 3

Its the friction while entering into the atmosphere that cause the fire.

Answer 4

A meteorite doesn't actually have to catch fire to produce a trail. Mealy glowing red hot will achieve this. Rocky meteorites will heat up and break apart which is perhaps wrongly described as 'burning up'. Iron based meteorites however will burn, very intensely in fact. The same principal is used in a thermal lance, which is basically a bunch of iron rods through which oxygen is pumped. It burns so hot it can cut through concrete.

Answer 5

They're the fuel.  Virtually anything is flammable if you turn it into fine enough particles.  As the meteor breaks apart little tiny particles fall off and they catch fire.

Answer 6

It's not exactly fire - the rock/metal of the meteorite heats up due to the friction and starts to glow red hot much the same as the element on an electric stove or a poker in the fire.

So the meteorite itself is the "fuel" if you want to look at it that way

Answer 7

What you have said is totally right. the fire you see in the meteorite is not due to some fuel present but it is due to the friction offered by the gases in atmosphere when it interacts with it.