(Entry 1 of 2) 1 : widow. 2 : a surviving species of an otherwise extinct group of organisms also : a remnant of a formerly widespread species that persists in an isolated area. 3a : a relief feature or rock remaining after other parts have disappeared.

Archaic form of relic.

“Relict” was an ancient term still used in colonial (British) America, and in England of that era, now archaic, for a widow; it has come to be a generic or collective term for widows and widowers. In historical linguistics, a relict is a word that is a survivor of a form or forms that are otherwise archaic.

: a large meteor : fireball especially : one that explodes.

A superbolide is a bolide that reaches an apparent magnitude of −17 or brighter, which is roughly 100 times brighter than the full moon. Recent examples of superbolides include the Sutter’s Mill meteorite in California and the Chelyabinsk meteor in Russia.

transitive verb. : to trace (something) again or back: such as. a : to go over or along (something, such as a course or path) again often in a reverse direction The hikers retraced the path back to the cabin. …

Many explosions recorded in Earth’s atmosphere are likely to be caused by the air bursts that result from meteors exploding as they hit the thicker part of the atmosphere. These types of meteors are also known as fireballs or bolides with the brightest known as superbolides.

The Sylacauga meteorite fell on November 30, 1954, at 12:46 local time (18:46 UT) in Oak Grove, Alabama, near Sylacauga. It is commonly called the Hodges meteorite because a fragment of it struck Ann Elizabeth Fowler Hodges (1920–1972).

A fireball is an unusually bright meteor that reaches a visual magnitude of -3 or brighter when seen at the observer’s zenith. Fireballs that explode in the atmosphere are technically referred to as bolides although the terms fireballs and bolides are often used interchangeably.

In astronomy, the zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of a meteor shower is the number of meteors a single observer would see in an hour of peak activity if it was at the zenith, assumed the conditions are excellent (stars visible up to magnitude 6,5).

Zenith, point on the celestial sphere directly above an observer on the Earth. The point 180° opposite the zenith, directly underfoot, is the nadir. Astronomical zenith is defined by gravity; i.e., by sighting up a plumb line.

Meteor showers occur when the earth in its orbit around the Sun passes through debris left over from the disintegration of comets. When the earth intersects this orbit in its annual trip, it can run into this debris, which burns up on entry into the earth’s atmosphere, producing a visible shower of meteors.

A meteor shower happens when Earth passes through the path of a comet. When this happens, the bits of comet debris, most no larger than a grain of sand, create streaks of light in the night sky as they burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. However, during a meteor shower, tens to hundreds of meteors can be seen each hour.

Specifically, seeing a meteor suggested that a gift was given by heaven. It often represented a mystery coming from some incredible force larger than ourselves, the cosmos. A meteor represented awareness of recognition of something beyond our present experience. Some see it as a soul or spirit.

A shooting star is really a small piece of rock or dust that hits Earth’s atmosphere from space. It moves so fast that it heats up and glows as it moves through the atmosphere. Shooting stars are actually what astronomers call meteors.

The showers tend to be most visible after midnight and before dawn. It is best to use your naked eye to spot a meteor shower. Binoculars or telescopes tend to limit your field of view. You might need to spend about half an hour in the dark to let your eyes get used to the reduced light.

TO see the meteors, look up and to the north. Those in southern latitudes can look toward the northeast to see more meteors.

The peak of the Lyrid meteor shower will be overnight on April 21-22, NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke told Space.com. As with most meteor showers, the peak viewing time will be before dawn, but the Lyrids will become visible beginning at about 10:30 p.m. local time.

66 million years ago

asteroid 1998 OR2

Asteroid 2019 SM8

The asteroid, called 2020 QU6, measures roughly 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) wide, or large enough to cause a global catastrophe if it were to hit Earth.

2020 BX12 is a sub-kilometer binary asteroid, classified as a near-Earth asteroid and potentially hazardous object of the Apollo group…

An object with a high mass close to the Earth could be sent out into a collision course with the asteroid, knocking it off course. When the asteroid is still far from the Earth, a means of deflecting the asteroid is to directly alter its momentum by colliding a spacecraft with the asteroid.

NEOWISE