Prior to the new research, scientists had traced the source of just 6 percent of the known meteorites that fell on our planet

Meteorites - rocks that fall to Earth from space - have pelted our planet from its birth about 4.5 billion years ago to today, often causing scant damage but sometimes triggering cataclysms. But from where exactly are these space rocks coming?

Three new studies have revealed the common origin of most of the meteorites that hit Earth, linking them to collisions in the relatively recent past. Though the Earth doesn't make a fuss about it, every day it is bombarded with around 44,