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To: frithguild

Question is...even if it hit Earth...how much of it would be burned up on entry? Would it hit Earth at say a 20 story building versus a 25 story building?


35 posted on 04/13/2009 4:19:43 PM PDT by My Favorite Headache (An oath to a liar is no oath at all)
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To: My Favorite Headache
Would it hit Earth at say a 20 story building versus a 25 story building?

lol... like that would matter...

36 posted on 04/13/2009 4:35:32 PM PDT by happygrl (It's time to Party like it's 1773.)
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To: My Favorite Headache

Earth’s atmosphere gives protection against the vast majority of small asteroids which hit. Asteroids hit the atmosphere at typical speeds in excess of 10 km/sec — an average of about 20 km/sec for asteroids whose entire orbits reside within the inner solar system, with exact relative speed depending upon their angle of approach, and with speeds over 50 km/sec common for small cometary objects making a pass from the outer solar system. At this speed, they usually break up due to severe shock pressures, and burn up due to friction with the atmosphere. Think about it — 10 kilometers per second (6 miles per second) is awfully fast — about 36,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) per hour.

For asteroids coming in at 20 km/sec, it’s generally thought that to penetrate the atmosphere and cause major damage by tsunami, an iron asteroid must be around 40 to 60 meters in diameter, and a stony asteroid 200 meters in diameter (Hills, 1994, paper ref.). However, a stony asteroid 60 meters in diameter can cause significant damage by airbursts (Hills and Goda, 1993, paper ref.).

http://www.permanent.com/a-impact.htm


51 posted on 04/14/2009 6:43:50 AM PDT by frithguild (Can I drill your head now?)
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