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>I am thinking it may be more of a question of how "small"
>must it be for pieces to survive in tact.I agree with this Meteorite fragments that are recovered have been "slowed" by the atmosphere and fall subsonically to earth. A high velocity impact would result in huge energy disbursement and few fragments.(Tunguska leveled 2,000 sq km of dense Siberian forest) So my SWAG is :
Less than 60 meters in diameter for stone meteoroid
Less than 20 meters in diameter for iron meteoroid
(not quite as big as a soccer field unless you figure for Ice.)
Best,
Ken Newton
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
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Walter Branch, Ph.D.
Branch Meteorites
322 Stephenson Ave., Suite B
Savannah, GA 31405 USA
www.branchmeteorites.com
