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A meteoroid (/ ˈ m iː t i ə r ɔɪ d / MEE-tee-ə-royd) [1] is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are distinguished as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) wide. [2] Objects smaller than meteoroids are classified as micrometeoroids or space dust.
Once it settles on the larger body's surface, the meteor becomes a meteorite. Meteorites vary greatly in size. For geologists, a bolide is a meteorite large enough to create an impact crater. [2] Meteorites that are recovered after being observed as they transit the atmosphere and impact Earth are called meteorite falls.
Bolide from the French astronomy book Le Ciel; Notions 'Elémentaires d'Astronomie Physique (1877). The word bolide (/ ˈ b oʊ l aɪ d /; from Italian via Latin, from Ancient Greek βολίς (bolís) 'missile' [2] [3]) may refer to somewhat different phenomena depending on the context in which the word appears, and readers may need to make inferences to determine which meaning is intended in ...
Meteors: When meteoroids survive Earth's atmosphere (or that of another planet, like Mars) and burn up, the fireballs or "shooting stars" are called meteors. Meteorites When a meteoroid survives a ...
Meteoric iron – a native metal found in meteorites and a mixture of different mineral phases. Compare telluric iron. Meteorite Observation and Recovery Program – a scientific program that was centered in Canada. Meteoriticist – a scientist working on meteorites, meteors, and meteoroids.
Meteoroid: A rock in space. Asteroids are larger rocks in space, but there's no official distinction between the two. Meteor: A rock passing through the atmosphere. If the rock is large enough to ...
The first meteor shower of the New Year also has the potential to be one of the year's best – if the weather cooperates.. But astronomers lament that the Quadrantid meteors tend to fall short of ...
A meteor air burst is a type of air burst in which a meteoroid explodes after entering a planetary body's atmosphere. This fate leads them to be called fireballs or bolides, with the brightest air bursts known as superbolides. Such meteoroids were originally asteroids and comets of a few to several tens of meters in diameter.