(meteorobs) Difference between Bolides and Fireballs -OT

[meteoreye at comcast.net]

Here's the Wiki definition, which supports the idea that it is a truely undefined term...


The word bolide comes from the Greek âïëéò, (bolis) which can mean a missile or to flash. The IAU has no official definition of bolide and generally considers the term synonymous with fireball. The term is more often used among geologists than astronomers where it means a very large impactor. For example, the USGS uses the term to mean a generic large crater forming projectile "to imply that we do not know the precise nature of the impacting body ... whether it is a rocky or metallic asteroid, or an icy comet, for example".[5] Astronomers tend to use the term to mean an exceptionally bright fireball, particularly one that explodes (sometimes called a detonating fireball).