3 ms·
EDIT: Just saw Bill Nye explain this on the DA14 webcast from planetary.org. When the meteor hits the atmosphere at such a high velocity, it's like hitting a br
by svachalek 14y ago
EDIT: Just saw Bill Nye explain this on the DA14 webcast from planetary.org. When the meteor hits the atmosphere at such a high velocity, it's like hitting a brick wall and it explodes on impact. Then the shock wave propagates to the ground as the fragments fall and oxidize.
- alanfalcon 14y agoI think Randall Munroe did a decent job explaining the physics of things dropping from space here: http://what-if.xkcd.com/28/ http://what-if.xkcd.com/28/
- pyre 14y agoIIRC, the meteor can also explode due to the core heating up from the atmospheric friction, though this depends on the make-up (materials, density, configuration) of the meteor.