[meteorite-list] Space.com's Top 5 Cosmic Myths

From: Martin Horejsi <martinh_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:53:34 2004
Message-ID: <BA1FA11F.54CA%martinh_at_isu.edu>

Hi Bob and thanks for the links.

It is interesting that 40% of the Top 5 cosmic myths have to do with
meteors/meteorites.

With all the other mysterious objects in the cosmos, I wonder why there are
not more exciting things than meteorites to misunderstand. I guess that is a
good thing given our fascination with them.

Cheers,

Martin




On 12/13/02 2:22 PM, "Robert Verish" <bolidechaser_at_yahoo.com> wrote:

> From a Space.com article earlier this year:
>
> <http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/top5_myths_020903-4.html>
>
> Top 5 Cosmic Myths (cont.)
>
> Myth #4 - Meteors are heated by friction as they pass
> through the atmosphere . . .
>
>
> This one makes sense, which is why it's so pernicious.
> But it's STILL WRONG.
>
> Meteoroids are tiny bits of dust, rock, ice or metal
> that have the unfortunate luck of having their orbits
> intersect the Earth's. When they pass through our
> atmosphere, they are heated so ferociously that they
> glow (and at this point are called meteors), and are
> visible for hundreds of miles.
>
> However, it is not friction that heats them. Think of
> it this way: a space shuttle's tiles are extremely
> delicate; they crumble easily in your hand. If they
> were heated by friction as the shuttle de-orbits and
> enters the atmosphere at Mach 25, the tiles would
> disintegrate. That's not a very good design
> characteristic.
>
> In reality, it isn't friction, but ram pressure that
> heats the meteoroid. When a gas is compressed it gets
> hot, like when a bicycle pump is vigorously used to
> inflate a tire. A meteoroid, moving at 33,500 mph (15
> kilometers a second) or more compresses the air in
> front of it violently. The air itself gets very hot,
> which is what heats the meteoroid. That's the fact,
> not friction.
>
> See Next Message for Myth #5: More on this Hot Topic
>
>
>
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Received on Fri 13 Dec 2002 04:37:20 PM PST