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jojobas 6 hours ago

No? There is no violent expansion or bursting, even if the sound is similar. It is as much an explosion as a supersonic jet passing by, and that is not much.

The term makes people think atmospheric heating causes an actual steam explosion and that's the source of shockwave, which can't be further from truth.

sholladay 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Do you not consider Tunguska an explosion? It’s always described as such. IIRC, it never even hit the ground. Sure, a lot of the damage was caused by the air being compressed from above, but it created an air burst, which would have released a lot of energy in every direction.

jojobas 3 hours ago | parent [-]

No, it's a misnomer as with any other meteor.

If you were to witness the breakup from the bolide's reference frame and without all the rushing air you'd never call it an explosion.