Posted on 06/09/2006 8:47:00 AM PDT by mwilli20
Sorry it took so long:
Recently we have improved the tools that model meteorite impacts in the atmosphere. When a meteor hits the atmosphere it can be traveling more than 15 kilometers per second. The shock of the atmosphere itself can cause some stony meteors, depending on a specific diameter and velocity, to explode prior to impact (this particular one is thought to have been somewhere around 30 to 50 meters in diameter and traveling approximately 15 Km/sec). Evidence that backs this up is that bits of rock have been found imbedded in the trees that match the composition of the usual stony meteorite.
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