HOW FAST DO METEORITES IMPACT WITH THE EARTH?

          The average meteorite enters the Earth’s atmosphere at around 50km/s (31mi/s), but particles in the atmosphere cause the speeding rocks to slow down. All but the largest meteorites are decelerated to around 150km/h (93mph) by the time they impact. Larger meteorites will not be slowed by atmospheric friction and hit the ground travelling at deadly speed.

          The term meteor comes from the Greek meteoron, meaning phenomenon in the sky. It is used to describe the streak of light produced as matter in the Solar System falls into Earth’s atmosphere creating temporary incandescence resulting from atmospheric friction. A meteoroid is matter revolving around the sun or any object in interplanetary space that is too small to be called an asteroid or a comet. Even smaller particles are called micrometeoroids or cosmic dust grains, which includes any interstellar material that should happen to enter our solar system. A meteorite is a meteoroid that reaches the surface of the Earth without being completely vaporized.

          Meteor’s come in a range of sizes, from dust-sized which we see as reflected sunlight in the orbital plane of the Solar System (called zodiacal light) to house-sized.

          When a meteor enters the atmosphere friction causes ablation of its surface (i.e. it burns up). If the meteor is small (fist-sized) it vaporizes before hitting the ground. If larger it survives to impact on the ground, although it will be reduced in size during entry into the atmosphere. About 25 million meteors enter the Earth’s atmosphere every day (duck!). Most burn up and about 1 million kilograms of dust per day settles to the Earth’s surface.

Picture Credit : Google