Hello Count,
Yes, many writers refer to the light phenomenon and the object itself as
"meteor" but some make a distinction between the two. That definition does
both, seemingly in the same breath!
Also, does light originate from the "glowing rock" itself or the plasma
(ionized gas) surrounding it? I thought from the plasma.
-Walter
----- Original Message -----
From: "Count Deiro" <countde...@earthlink.net>
To: "Walter Branch" <waltbra...@bellsouth.net>;
<Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2011 6:30 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Meteorites 101
Hi Walter and all,
This may be the acceptable nomenclature....
METEOR (mt-r)
1. A bright trail or streak of light that appears in the night sky when a
meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere. The friction with the air causes
the rock to glow with heat. Also called shooting star.
2. A rocky body that produces such light. Most meteors burn up before
reaching the Earth's surface. See Note at solar system.
Usage The streaks of light we sometimes see in the night sky and call
meteors were not identified as interplanetary rocks until the 19th
century. Before then, the streaks of light were considered only one of a
variety of atmospheric phenomena, all of which bore the name meteor. Rain
was an aqueous meteor, winds and storms were airy meteors, and streaks of
light in the sky were fiery meteors. This general use of meteor survives
in our word meteorology, the study of the weather and atmospheric
phenomena. Nowadays, astronomers use any of three words for rocks from
interplanetary space, depending on their stage of descent to the Earth. A
meteoroid is a rock in space that has the potential to collide with the
Earth's atmosphere. Meteoroids range in size from a speck of dust to a
chunk about 100 meters in diameter, though most are smaller than a pebble.
When a meteoroid enters the atmosphere, it becomes a meteor. The light
that it gives off when heated by friction with the atmosphere is also
called a meteor. If the rock is not obliterated by the friction and lands
on the ground, it is called a meteorite. For this term, scientists
borrowed the -ite suffix used in the names of minerals like malachite and
pyrite.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Houghton
Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights
reserved.
Best to all,
Count Deiro
IMCA 3536 MetSoc
-----Original Message-----
From: Walter Branch <waltbra...@bellsouth.net>
Sent: Jan 15, 2011 3:13 PM
To: Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com
Subject: [meteorite-list] Meteorites 101
Hello Everyone,
The term "meteor" refers to the light phenomenon as an object from space
enters the Earth's atmosphere. What is the proper term for the object
itself?
A meteoroid is an object in space. Is it still called a meteoroid when
it
enters the Earth's atmosphere?
-Walter
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