Bolide
[BOH-lahyd]
Part of speech: noun
Origin: French, early 19th century
1.
A large meteor which explodes in the atmosphere.
Examples of Bolide in a sentence
"NASA is tracking a bolide that will be visible to stargazers."
"Stacey saw the footage of the bolide exploding in the sky."
About Bolide
This word comes from French, although it’s originally from the Latin and the Greek “bolis,” meaning “missile.”
Did you Know?
Some scientists measure the brightness of bolides in order to classify them. One publication describes a bolide as a fireball that reaches a minimum apparent magnitude of -14, which is twice as bright as a full moon. A superbolide can reach an apparent magnitude of -17 or brighter, which is about 100 times brighter than the full moon.
