Talk:superbolide

Initial request on AfC in March 2013

 * superbolide -- a term that has been used in esoteric technical astrophysics for some years, but came into the popular lexicon more prominently after the asteroid that entered Earth's atmosphere over Russia in Feburary 2013 was identified as a "superbolide". See, for example, Chelyabinsk meteor. FWIW, Google shows 23,600 hits on Superbolide as of today. Scholarly articles show 138 hits on Google scholar. Usage note: superbolide is used as a noun describing a particular large size of bolide or fireball meteor; it is ALSO used as an adjective as in "superbolide meteor" or "superbolide event", including in the scholarly literature. Cheers. N2e (talk) 14:24, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

Adjective form
I'm not terribly well informed on the ways of Wiktionary... But since it is used as an adjective also, even in the scholarly literature, should we not perhaps show that in the entry for the word? Cheers. N2e (talk) 04:35, 21 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Can you give an example? I would imagine it's just attributive use (like "tractor parts") rather than a true adjective ("it's very superbolide", "this one is more superbolide than that one"). Equinox ◑ 10:26, 21 November 2013 (UTC)


 * Sure. Since superbolide is such an unfamiliar term in general vernacular English discussion--especially prior to the Feb 2013 event over Asia, the Chelyabinsk meteor--, we find it used as an adjective to describe a meteor of a very large size and apparent magnitude.  While this is technically redundant, a superbolide already is a meteor of high apparent magnitude, when the lay public reads superbolide meteor, and superbolide is used as an adjective, they get the idea that it is a particular type of meteor (a word with which they are familiar), and that it is largish (from the super prefix), even though they have no idea whatsoever what a bolide is.


 * This is the use that is found in several news articles, and was eventually agreed to for the lede of the Wikipedia article on the 2013: Chelyabinsk meteor.  Hope this is helpful.  N2e (talk) 17:35, 26 November 2013 (UTC)