What happens when a meteorite hits the Earth?

Meteorites fall on the Earth at ultrasonic speeds and leave behind craters, which are often 20 times bigger than the meteorite itself. Upon their impact, the rock is whirled up from the surface or melted and changed. The meteorite itself evaporates. Only very large meteorites remain intact, such as the Hobe meteorite weighing 60 tons, which hit the Earth in 1920 in Namibia. Giant meteorites can throw up so much dust that the climate changes. Such a meteorite probably led to the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Lonar Crater in Lonar, Maharashtra, India, is believed to be a result of a meteorite impact that occurred around 50,000 years ago.