Wednesday 27 April 2011

What are the prerequisites for a meteorite to reach the ground?

Your first resource here can be the impact effects calculator, It can show you when it is likely that a high velocity impact will occur. Somewhat surprisingly, faster objects are less likely to hit the ground at hyper-velocity, as they are more likely to break up and explode at altitude. They will likely form multiple meteorites, as the Chelyabinsk meteor did



If you are interested in meteorite formation, rather than craters, then most impactors will in some part survive the fall, provided they are rocky rather than icy. Objects smaller than 5cm are mostly cometary in origin. Larger than that and they are more likely to be rocky.

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