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On July 18, 2011 a large yellow and green streak was seen over the skies of North Africa, followed by two distinct sonic booms. October 2011, nomadic people of Morrocco began finding meteorite fragments near the small town of Tissint. The Tissint meteorite hits the auction block this weekend, so today we have a three words that are often confused or used interchangeably: meteor, meteoroid and meteorite. The word meteor comes directly from the Ancient Greek word ta meteora which meant a celestial phenomenon. Today a meteor is the visible manifestation of that celestial phenomenon as it enters the earth’s atmosphere. Meteor came into use in Early Modern English in the 15th century. Meteorite was coined in 1824 by adding -ite from the French suffix based on the Latin suffix -ita meaning connected to or belonging to to denote the remains of meteors recovered on the ground. The word meteoroid was coined in 1865 by adding the -oid suffix from the Ancient Greek word eidos meaning shape or form to denote a celestial body smaller than an asteroid yet still visible from Earth. Bidding will reportedly start at US$230,000 so bring your checkbook!

On July 18, 2011 a large yellow and green streak was seen over the skies of North Africa, followed by two distinct sonic booms. October 2011, nomadic people of Morrocco began finding meteorite fragments near the small town of Tissint. The Tissint meteorite hits the auction block this weekend, so today we have a three words that are often confused or used interchangeably: meteor, meteoroid and meteorite. The word meteor comes directly from the Ancient Greek word ta meteora which meant a celestial phenomenon. Today a meteor is the visible manifestation of that celestial phenomenon as it enters the earth’s atmosphere. Meteor came into use in Early Modern English in the 15th century. Meteorite was coined in 1824 by adding -ite from the French suffix based on the Latin suffix -ita meaning connected to or belonging to to denote the remains of meteors recovered on the ground. The word meteoroid was coined in 1865 by adding the -oid suffix from the Ancient Greek word eidos meaning shape or form to denote a celestial body smaller than an asteroid yet still visible from Earth.

Bidding will reportedly start at US$230,000 so bring your checkbook!

October 13, 2012
11:51 AM
23 notes
High-res
#tissint
#meteor
#meteoroid
#meteorite
#science
#words
#latin
#greek
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