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Re: When it's a rock! (was,"RE: When Does a Meteorite become a Meteorite?")

In a message dated 99-09-13 14:17:25 EDT, you write:

<< 
 geozay>>  It would be proper to refer to the solid object producing 
 the meteor phenonmenon as a meteoroid still. However, this is the 
 transformation period for a soon to be meteorite. Much like the
 caterpillar's 
 cocoon. >>
 
 but then later, 
 
 geozay>>  For all intents and purposes, the object in the dark flight stage
 HAS made contact 
 with the earth....the atmosphere [and should be called a meteorite]. >> 
 
 Bob>>which would seem to confuse many people, because these two statements 
appear
 to contradict each other, since in both cases the meteoroid is in contact
 with the atmosphere?<<

There should be no real confusion when one realizes that the atmosphere 
technically extends several hundred miles above the earth. So during the 
transformation stage when the meteoroid first enters the technical atmosphere 
and into the layers that causes it to glow as a meteor, it still has 
velocities that is not totally dominated by the earth yet. It is not an 
object that is passively falling at the whims of the earth's gravity yet. It 
is still on it's own trajectory. An initial "impact" with the atmosphere does 
not mean it has became a meteorite yet. It just means that the impact has yet 
to become great enough to rob the meteoroid of it's independent nature. 
Usually, the eventual atmospheric impact will win out at some point. But 
until it does, the independent nature of the object called a meteoroid at 
this point still abides essentially by it's definition, but transitionally. 
Once the atmosphere completes the job of rendering a meteoroid into a 
meteorite, it could be recognized as such by the point of extinguishment 
signaling the dark flight stage. the independent nature of the meteoroid has 
spent itself out while in the atmosphere, to also later become the meteorite 
at another point in the atmosphere. 
GeoZay

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