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Hi, Mr. Balki. It's neat that you actually have a meteorite named after you.

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Yeah, we're a little confused on what a meteor actually is.

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Isn't it the same thing as a meteoroid and a meteorite?

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I'm glad to help you. Actually, I had an asteroid named after me.

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It's easy to get them confused.

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Meteoroids are small pieces of rock from an asteroid or comet drifting in outer space.

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When a meteorite enters into the Earth's atmosphere and burns up, it's called a meteor.

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People often see these meteors and call them shooting stars.

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People near us have reported seeing a fireball. Is a fireball like a shooting star?

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Yes, a fireball is a name given to a particularly bright meteor.

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They are sometimes so bright they can be seen in the daytime.

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What's a meteorite?

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Most meteorites burn up completely when they enter into Earth's atmosphere.

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But if it's large enough and survives and impacts the Earth, it's called a meteorite, such as the one I'm holding here.

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Some meteorites can cause craters, such as the one in Meteor Crater in Arizona.

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We understand that a fireball was sighted near our town and that it may have caused a sonic boom. Is this possible?

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Yes, if it's large enough. The larger size will allow it to last longer and penetrate deeper into the atmosphere.

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The sonic boom is caused because the meteor is traveling faster than the speed of sound.

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Can a sonic boom from a meteor be powerful enough to cause a seismic reading?

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Yes, a seismometer will detect a sonic boom from a large meteor.

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However, to hear the sonic boom, you have to be relatively close, typically within 50 miles or so.

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And the fireball is visible as far away as 500 miles away.

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I would love to see one.

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Most fireballs are not observed because 75% of the Earth is ocean and there aren't too many people in the middle of the ocean.

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In July of 2001, there was a fireball that was seen from Virginia to Ontario, Canada.

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And sonic booms were reported by people stretched over an area of more than 100 miles.

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This has been a lot of help, Mr. Balki. I think we found the answer to our mystery.

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Dr. Peter Brown at the University of Western Ontario is an expert on fireballs.

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You might want to send him an email and ask him some more questions.

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Thanks so much.