bolide
bolide — noun
1. a very large and bright piece of rock from space that burns up as it enters the
a very large and bright piece of rock from space that burns up as it enters the Earth's atmosphere, sometimes exploding as it does so
Last night, astronomers at the Tokyo Observatory tracked a brilliant bolide across the sky.
astronomers + tracked + bolide — scientific observation
The explosion of the bolide lit up the night sky for several seconds.
Samir captured a video of the bolide as it broke apart above the mountain range.
Scientists study bolide events to learn more about space rocks heading toward Earth.
Residents across northern Chile reported seeing a bright bolide around midnight.
- meteor
the general term for any piece of space rock burning up in the atmosphere; less specific about size or brightness
- fireball
a very bright meteor, often used interchangeably with bolide but without the 'exploding' implication
- shooting star
informal, everyday term for any meteor regardless of size
用法筆記
This is a specialist term used mostly in astronomy reporting and scientific writing. In everyday conversation, 'meteor' or 'shooting star' is far more common.