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From: paulh@tektronix.UUCP (Paul Hoefling)
Newsgroups: net.astro,net.aviation
Subject: Re: Something else to watch out for!
Message-ID: <5446@tektronix.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Jun-85 14:41:12 EDT
Article-I.D.: tektroni.5446
Posted: Thu Jun 20 14:41:12 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 22-Jun-85 23:43:31 EDT
Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
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Xref: watmath net.astro:681 net.aviation:1652


<>> What caused this? Well, the theory is that that airplane had the first 
<>> observed encounter with a meteor. A several-ton meteor, of several meters
<>> ...
<>
<> Shouldn't that be *meteorite*?
<>
<	It is a meteor until it hits the ground.

Actually, when something is flying through space it's a *meteoroid*, it
becomes a *meteor* when it enters the atmosphere and begins to burn, and
if it manages to survive and strike the ground, what's left of it is a
*meteorite*.

Yours for pickier terminology...

Paul Hoefling
Information Pack Rat
uucp: {allegra,decvax,ihnp4,ucbvax,zehntel}!tektronix!paulh
-- 

Paul Hoefling
Information Pack Rat
uucp: {allegra,decvax,ihnp4,ucbvax,zehntel}!tektronix!paulh