[meteorite-list] Earth Impactors

From: Tracy Latimer <tracyl_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:00:10 2004
Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.21.0207241701230.4113-100000_at_netra.lib.state.hi.us>

Mmmmmm... what exactly does "wide destruction" mean? Probably putting a
hole in someone's roof, denting a car, or even killing a dog <g> doesn't
count. How big a crater do you want? Does it matter if it craters an
uninhabited place? Does something that destroys a building count more
than something that displaces a lot of Pacific water? I believe
marble-sized is the minimum size for a meteorite to survive the plunge
through the atmosphere, but I don't know the parameters for "how bad is
bad".

Tracy Latimer

On Wed, 24 Jul 2002, Walter Branch wrote:

> Hello Everyone,
>
> I have been asked a question for which I have no answer.
>
>
> "how large does an object have to be for it not to vaporize completely upon plunging through Earth's atmosphere, i.e., for there
> to be anything sizeable left to cause wide destruction once it hits the ground (or water)?"
>
> I know that the answer is not an easy one and there are numerous variables involved (e.g., type of material involved, angle of entry, definition of "wide destruction," etc.) but does anyone have a guess (or a SWAG) as to the answer.
>
> -Walter
>
>
>
> -----------------------------------------------
> Walter Branch, Ph.D.
> Branch Meteorites
> 322 Stephenson Ave., Suite B
> Savannah, GA 31405 USA
> www.branchmeteorites.com
>
Received on Wed 24 Jul 2002 11:10:05 PM PDT