[meteorite-list] ANOTHER QUESTION

[Chris Peterson]

If you like. I've never heard that usage, however, and wouldn't use it 
myself. A hole in the ground is made by an impactor as far as I'm 
concerned. Using "bolide" in that way just further confuses things.

"Bolide" is almost always used to describe a meteor that explodes or 
fragments (in the air). That's a reasonable usage, and maybe the IAU 
should so define it. Confusion comes from using "bolide" and "fireball" 
as if they were synonyms, which they are not. That's why I use 
"fireball" for a bright meteor, and simply qualify it with a description 
using terms like "fragmentation".

Chris

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


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <lebofsky at lpl.arizona.edu>
To: "Chris Peterson" <clp at alumni.caltech.edu>
Cc: "Jeff Kuyken" <info at meteorites.com.au>; 
<meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Monday, November 20, 2006 9:40 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] ANOTHER QUESTION


However:

The thing that makes a hole in the ground [like Meteor(!) Crater] is
called a bolide. This avoid the issue of the hole being made by a
meteoroid, meteorite, asteroid, or comet.

Larry
Meteorite magazine Co-Editor