An Article In Meteorite-Times Magazine
by Robert Verish
An Article In Meteorite-Times Magazine
by Robert Verish
From Asteroids to Meteoroids to Meteors to Meteorites
Guess what? The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has formally-approved the word "meteor" to be used as BOTH the term for the solid object, as well as, the light-phenoma that it produces.
For years I've been told that the term "meteor" only applies to the light phenomenon that we see high in the night sky, but not to the physical object that is falling from space. I was told that the International Astronomical Union (IAU) convened a committee titled "Commission 22" to officially define terms for meteoric objects such as these.
This Commission also defined all of the other meteoric and meteoritic "m-words", such as, "meteoroid". Now in this particular case, we have the term "meteoroid" being applied to the very same physical object that could produce a meteor, (were this piece of debris to fall through the Earth's atmosphere). The explanation for this apparent dual usage is that, as long as the solid object is orbiting in interplanetary space, it can be called a "meteoroid". Hence, the word "meteoroid" could not be used for that same object while it is moving through the atmosphere.
But this restrictive definition for the terms "meteor" and "meteoroid" resulted in there being no officially-approved word for the solid particle that produces the light phenomenon. At least, that appeared to be the case to me. That is, until recently, when I read on-line the IAU definition for "meteor". It appears that, either there was a recent change in the IAU definition, or that Commission 22 had originally intended that there be a more general usage for the term "meteor" that included the physical object that produces the light phenomenon. See below:
Where do we go from here?
From here on we need to embrace the [original] concept, as defined by the IAU, that a meteor is BOTH the physical object that enters into the Earth's atmosphere, as well as, the light phenomenon that it produces.
Here is a link to a website for IAU Definitions, that can be used as a reference for details on terms and terminology.
Relative size of this solar system's planets and planetismals.
If you have any questions relating to theNaming of Minor Planets or Small Body Nomenclature, you can submit your terminology questions to
IAU Commission 22
REFERENCES:
The International Astronomical Union defines a fireball as "a meteor brighter than ... The word bolide comes from the Greek ß????, (bolis) which can mean a ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteoroid - 63k - |
The International Astronomical Union has no official definition of bolide. The term bolide describes the flaring effect given off by a meteoroid which is ... answers.yahoo.com/question/ |
... fireballs (the International Astronomical Union defines a fireball as a ... Another term that is sometimes used is bolide, especially for fireballs that ... www.cloudbait.com/science/fireballs.html - 23k - |
The International Astronomical Union's Commission 22 defined the terms to be used ... Bolide: The term bolide was not defined. Some people say a bolide is a ... www.meteorobs.org/bagnall/define.htm - 10k - |
Definitions:
http://www.amsmeteors.org/define.html
Bolides on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolides
Discussion about Bolides on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk: Bolides
Link to Wikipedia Photo of Fireball with image data:
For for more information, please contact me by email:
Bolide*chaser
