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

From: Chris Peterson <clp_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:58:41 -0700
Message-ID: <9B01953CCAD74395A5C5C8EAEBB04FC5_at_bellatrix>

It's seldom confusing in practice, since the context almost always makes
clear what is actually under discussion. I'm pretty consistent in my own
usage: the body before and during its incandescent (meteor) phase is a
meteoroid, and after its incandescent phase is a meteorite (thus, a
meteorite during its cold fall).

Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com


----- Original Message -----
From: "Sterling K. Webb" <sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net>
To: "Jason Utas" <meteoritekid at gmail.com>; "Meteorite-list"
<meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 12:14 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Small Asteroid 2010 AL30 Will Fly Past
TheEarth


> 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...
Received on Wed 13 Jan 2010 09:58:41 AM PST