Meteorites
Temporary bodies that pay a credit to whoever holds them at the end.
A meteorite lands on an empty tile in every galaxy every 20 minutes and lasts 1 hour. Hold it when the hour is up and you are paid 1 credit.
It is marked in amber, with a ring that empties as the hour runs down and the time left written underneath.
Taking one
A meteorite starts neutral and is captured like any other planet (see Attacking & Capture). What it costs depends on where it landed: meteorites in the outer half of a galaxy hold 1 to 5 probes, and the garrison climbs toward the core, up to 200 to 1,000 probes at the centre. Most land in the outer half.
It has no level and produces no probes, so its garrison only changes when swarms arrive or leave. You cannot upgrade it, you cannot point an automation at it, and you cannot give it to a clanmate, since it would be gone within the hour. Take one by hand.
The payout
Whoever owns the meteorite when the hour ends gets the credit, and it disappears. One nobody took, or one that fell back to neutral, pays nothing. Probes sitting on it are lost with it, and so are swarms still on their way.
Meteorites are the steady way to earn credits without buying them, and they work on a guest account. Credits & Cosmetics lists the other free sources.