https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2017/Q4/research-shows-why-meteroids-explode-before-they-reach-earth.html https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2017

https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2017/Q4/research-shows-why-meteroids-explode-before-they-reach-earth.html https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2017/Q4/research-sh... “There’s a big gradient between high-pressure air in front of the meteor and the vacuum of air behind it,” said Jay Melosh, a professor of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at Purdue University and co-author of the paper. “If the air can move through the passages in the meteorite, it can easily get inside and blow off pieces.”