which were deposited onto the Earth from outer space.

Telluric iron is so named after the Latin word Tellus, meaning "Earth" (the planet, as opposed to terra meaning "earth": the land, ground or soil), combined with the suffix -ic meaning "of" or "born from", differentiating it from meteorites. Telluric iron resembles meteoric iron, in that it contains both a significant amount of nickel and Widmanstatten structures.