[meteorite-list] Small Asteroid 2010 AL30 Will Fly Past TheEarth

From: Meteorites USA <eric_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:49:47 -0800
Message-ID: <4B4D7B1B.9070802_at_meteoritesusa.com>

This is what happens when you get too many smart people in a room together.

Regards,
Eric


A meteor can be both a meteoroid and meteor while traveling through the
atmosphere.

On 1/12/2010 11:14 PM, Sterling K. Webb wrote:
> Just to make things even more confusing,
> the IAU itself has approved the use of the
> term "meteor" in a dual sense to include the
> physical body itself, thus equating "meteoroid"
> with "meteor."
>
> Say what?
>
> Bob Verrish wrote an article about it:
> http://meteorite-recovery.tripod.com/2008/mar08.htm
>
> I quote the IAU:
>
> Definition of terms by the IAU Commission 22, 1961.
>
> A. meteor: in particular, the light phenomenon which results
> from the entry into the Earth's atmosphere of a solid particle
> from space; more generally, as a noun or an adjective, ANY
> PHYSICAL OBJECT or phenomenon associated with such
> an event.
>
> B. meteoroid: a solid object moving in interplanetary space,
> of a size considerably smaller than an asteroid and considerably
> larger than an atom or molecule.
>
> C. meteorite: any object defined under B which has reached
> the surface of the Earth without being completely vaporized.
>
> D. meteoric: the adjectival form pertaining to definitions A and B.
>
> E. meteoritic: the adjectival form pertaining to definition C.
>
> F. fireball: a bright meteor with luminosity which equals or
> exceeds that of the brightest planets.
>
> G. micrometeorite: a very small meteorite or meteoritic particle
> with a diameter in general less than a millimeter.
>
> Now, is everything perfectly clear?
>
> I didn't think so...
>
>
> Sterling K. Webb
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jason Utas" <meteoritekid at gmail.com>
> To: "Meteorite-list" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 12:49 AM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Small Asteroid 2010 AL30 Will Fly Past
> TheEarth
>
>
> Hello Sterling, Larry, All,
> Interesting - there's another problem with Sterling's initial
> definition, of which the following statement was a component:
>
> "2010 AL30 could be a "meteoroid" if it would hit and
> leave a piece to be recovered. Just be very patient and
> live a long time... (Always a good idea anyway.)"
>
> As per that definition, though, there's a problem when it comes to
> single crater-forming meteorites that don't leave pieces to be
> recovered. Yes, they hit the earth, but if they can't be recovered in
> any way, can they really be called meteorites (because they don't
> technically produce recoverable 'meteorites')?
>
> Admittedly that argument is only a problem if we're using the outdated
> version of the definition, but it raises another question.
>
> If an interplanetary object does strike the surface of the earth - and
> vaporizes upon impact, is it still considered a meteorite?
> Are craters formed by meteorites? Asteroids? I assume a meteoroid
> wouldn't be large enough to vaporize itself on impact, but even the
> faintest of shooting stars produce dust particles which will
> eventually reach the ground.
> - So there's a minimum size limit on "meteorites" - they must be
> larger than the dust produced by fireballs themselves (apparently),
> but as for crater-forming bodies...I've always simply called them
> meteorites because, well, in my mind, they've struck the surface of
> the earth, so they're meteorites.
> Trouble arises if the language of the currently used definition is
> specific enough to note that for a meteorite to be a meteorite,
> fragments must be recoverable. And if that's the case, then many
> craters were in fact formed by...Asteroids? This definition would
> also change on individual crater's with time, as older craters might
> have arrived with recoverable fragments, but such pieces could have
> since been lost to time and weathering (craters generally outlast
> meteorite fragments, after all).
>
> So...yeah. A few problems.
> Any thoughts?
>
> Regards,
> Jason
>
> On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 10:04 PM, <geozay at aol.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>> "My" definition of "meteoroid" is just the standard
>> textbook definition. Before it hits the Earth, it's
>> a "meteoroid." While in fiery flight through the
>> atmosphere, it's a "meteor." If a piece lands on the
>> Earth (and somebody finds it), it's a "meteorite."<<
>>
>> I understood that a meteoroid is a small bodied natural object, in a
>> separate solar orbit from that of earth's. When it enters the earths
>> atmosphere
>> and in the incandescent phase, the visible phenomena is a meteor.
>> Afterwards, during the dark phase, its no longer in a separate solar
>> orbit from that
>> of the earth's. It has yet to hit the ground to become a meteorite. What
>> is this object called during the dark phase? I personally call it a
>> meteorite since its under the control of the earth at that point and not
>> independent of the earth. Also there has been detected by various
>> space probes out
>> around Jupiter, "meteoroids" that are too fast to be in solar orbit
>> and thus
>> of interstellar origins. Are these still called meteoroids?
>> GeoZay
>>
>> ______________________________________________
>> Visit the Archives at
>> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
>> Meteorite-list mailing list
>> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>
> ______________________________________________
> Visit the Archives at
> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
> ______________________________________________
> Visit the Archives at
> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
Received on Wed 13 Jan 2010 02:49:47 AM PST