Space rock

30 August 2025

Fixing space rock naming

(new names marked with a *)

[A grid of 9 images follows]

[First row, descriptions left to right]

[1. Space-suited Triangle-person holding a clipboard hovering in space, reaching out for a small rock. Label: meteoroid]

[2. Small rock falling to Earth. Label: meteor]

[3. Crater with a rock in it, and a Triangle-person peaking over the rim. Label: meteorite]

[Second row]

[4. Space-suited Triangle-person (still with a clipboard), hovering in space next to a large rock. Label: asteroid]

[5. Large rock falling to Earth. Label: asteor*]

[6. Very large crater, with a tiny, tiny Triangle person standing on the rim looking down on a huge rock embedded in the ground. Next to the crater there is several collapsed skyscrapers. Label: asterite*]

[Third row]

[7. Space-suited Triangle person standing on a surface that visible curves, holding a flag depicting Earth. Label: planetoid]

[8. Gigantic Moon or Pluto-sized object is falling to Earth. Label: planetor*]

[9. Space-suited Triangle-person is hovering next to Earth, shrugging. The Earth is cracked in half, with bits of debris similar to the object that was previously falling down. Label: planetite*]

We had a bit of a moment figuring out correct names for rocks falling from the sky.

I’ve thoroughly researched the subject, and I think we need to fix up the naming (quick - someone email International Astronomical Union!).

Meteoroid, asteroid and planetoid are all rocks unthreateningly hovering in space. When one of them falls into Earth’s atmosphere they all become “meteors”, and when they reach the ground they all become “meteorites”.

This seems unfair to the rocks - I don’t think a planetoid falling on Earth should be called the same as a small pebble falling down. Small pebble won’t even be noticed by Earthlings and it might not even reach the ground, while a planetoid falling down will certainly be spotted.

Thus I propose to consistently name these objects. As a benefit, it will be possible to immediately communicate the scale of the extinction event. Plus “planetor” sounds threateningly accurate.

(I did take liberty to use “asteor” instead of “asteror” because I suspect people would shorten it like that anyway after 500 years of use.)

#science