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The article states that it's not "technically" a meteorite until it hits the earth. So what would it be called had the skydiver managed to catch it?
by Schwolop 13y ago
The article states that it's not "technically" a meteorite until it hits the earth. So what would it be called had the skydiver managed to catch it?
- devnonymous 13y agoA meteoroid ...or rather bloody meteoroid :-). Meteors disintegrate into meteoroid and post impact are called meteorites, AFIAK.
- bayesianhorse 13y agoIt would have been called a rock that killed a skydiver, at that speed.
- Crito 13y agoWhen the skydiver landed while holding the meteoroid, both the meteoroid and the skydiver holding it would then become meteorites. The skydiver could then sell himself on ebay to meteorite collectors for a pretty penny.
- marshray 13y agoskydiverite
- stcredzero 13y agoThe article states that it's not "technically" a meteorite until it hits the earth. This shows how our environment has biased our science and thinking. An object hitting a planet's atmosphere should be thought of as having hit that planet. Otherwise, it becomes indeterminate to say when a meteor hits a gas giant planet, if at all. By the time atoms of the meteor get to where the gas giant planet's material can be described as solid, the meteor is no longer recognizably a meteor.