Editing Near-Earth object (section)

=== Meteoroids ===

In 1961, the IAU defined [[meteoroid]]s as a class of solid interplanetary objects distinct from asteroids by their considerably smaller size.<ref name="Rubin2010"/> This definition was useful at the time because, with the exception of the [[Tunguska event]], all historically observed meteors were produced by objects significantly smaller than the smallest asteroids then observable by telescopes.<ref name="Rubin2010"/> As the distinction began to blur with the discovery of ever smaller asteroids and a greater variety of observed NEO impacts, revised definitions with size limits have been proposed from the 1990s.<ref name="Rubin2010">{{cite journal |last1=Rubin |first1=Alan E. |last2=Grossman |first2=Jeffrey N. |title=Meteorite and meteoroid: New comprehensive definitions |journal=Meteoritics & Planetary Science |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=114–122 |date=January 2010 |doi=10.1111/j.1945-5100.2009.01009.x |bibcode=2010M&PS...45..114R |s2cid=129972426}}</ref> In April 2017, the IAU adopted a revised definition that generally limits meteoroids to a size between 30&nbsp;μm and 1&nbsp;m in diameter, but permits the use of the term for any object of any size that caused a meteor, thus leaving the distinction between asteroid and meteoroid blurred.<ref name="met-def-2017">{{cite news |first=Vincent |last=Perlerin |title=Definitions of terms in meteor astronomy (IAU) |date=September 26, 2017 |work=News |publisher=[[International Meteor Organization]] |url=https://www.imo.net/definitions-of-terms-in-meteor-astronomy-iau/ |access-date=January 2, 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072313/https://www.imo.net/definitions-of-terms-in-meteor-astronomy-iau/ |archive-date=January 23, 2018}}</ref>