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To: ClearCase_guy

No, asteroid is the correct term. It would remain correct if it were the size of a grain of sand, though it'd admittedly sound a little silly.

Oh, and because I'm an engineer:
Meteoroid: a rock in space
Meteor: A space rock entering the atmosphere
Meteorite: A space rock that has hit the ground.


8 posted on 12/23/2004 6:38:45 AM PST by orionblamblam
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To: orionblamblam
Is asteroid the general term for all of the above? The news story seems to be about a "Meteoroid: a rock in space", so I'm curious why they didn't use that term.
9 posted on 12/23/2004 6:45:21 AM PST by ClearCase_guy (The fourth estate is a fifth column.)
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To: orionblamblam
Meteorite: A space rock that has hit the ground

And if it hits water is it a Meteorine?

15 posted on 12/23/2004 6:56:04 AM PST by ASA Vet (Those who know don't talk. Those who talk don't know.)
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To: orionblamblam

Meteoriod is probably the most accurate term. (Same source defines "asteroid" as being between several kilometers and several hundred kilometers in diameter.) It's like the distinction between "ship" and "boat".

meteoroid (mê´tê-e-roid´) noun
A solid body, moving in space, that is smaller than an asteroid and at least as large as a speck of dust.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution restricted in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved.


17 posted on 12/23/2004 7:05:22 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (NYT Headline: "The Protocols of the Learned Elders of CBS", Fake But Accurate, Experts Say)
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To: orionblamblam

You beat me to it again.


59 posted on 12/23/2004 12:07:08 PM PST by Old Professer (The accidental trumps the purposeful in every endeavor attended by the incompetent.)
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