[Gk. aer, air, and lithos, a stone.] A meteoric stone that comes into the atmosphere from space and falls to the earth. It is of the same nature as the shooting stars, small particles, which become so hot from friction with the atmosphere that they are burned up. Aerolites are very hot when they first fall. They are largely made up of pure iron, but contain also nickel, silicon, and other elements. Some very large ones have been found weighing many hundreds of pounds.