(meteorobs) Difference between Bolides and Fireballs -OT

meteoreye at comcast.net meteoreye at comcast.net
Fri Jun 13 14:53:11 EDT 2008


>From the USGS:

"
What is a bolide? There is no consensus on its definition, but we use it to mean an extraterrestrial body in the 1-10-km size range, which impacts the earth at velocities of literally faster than a speeding bullet (20-70 km/sec = Mach 75), explodes upon impact, and creates a large crater. "Bolide" is a generic term, used 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. 
"


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