[meteorite-list] Meteorite from Jupiter-- uh, I mean TO Jupiter

From: Pete Pete <rsvp321_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Jun 21 18:06:14 2006
Message-ID: <BAY104-F27912B322FA835E4D272BAF8840_at_phx.gbl>

>>falling through -40°C air at ~100 m/s.


...striking the finder on his shoulder with only enough energy to entice a
mere "Who's there?!" out of him.

Not hard enough to require even one expletive to delete.


My question is this: Can a meteor that is travelling with enough velocity to
get a nice, black fusion crust, and with the dimensions indicated by the
article's picture, be slowed enough by any other possible influence (strong
cross winds, strong updrafts, striking several songbirds on the way down)
that it wouldn't go through human flesh, instead of just bumping [him]?

If the meteorite hit the roof of the house he was near, or branches of a
tree he might be near, one would think there would be some sound
accompanying his story.

Cheers,
Pete


From: "Chris Peterson" <clp_at_alumni.caltech.edu>
To: <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Meteorite from Jupiter-- uh, I mean TO Jupiter
Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2006 10:57:19 -0600

Agreed, this fact alone isn't enough to completely close the case. But
nearly so.

Most of the heat of ablation is carried away from the meteoroid. A tiny
stone will most likely have fragmented from a much larger one, and will have
only undergone ablation for a fraction of a second (otherwise it would burn
up completely). There simply isn't time to pump much heat into the interior.
On the other hand, the small stone, with its high surface area to volume
ratio, is subject to significant convective cooling during the several
minutes it is falling through -40°C air at ~100 m/s. I think it is highly
unlikely that such a small stone would arrive at the ground with a
temperature significantly different from ambient, and most likely a bit
below.

Convective coupling is usually going to be a more significant factor in
determining meteorite temperature than ablative heating (treating both as
differentials from the original temperature of the object in space).

Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com


----- Original Message ----- From: "stan ." <laser_maniac_at_hotmail.com>
To: <markf_at_ssl.gb.com>; <meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 21, 2006 10:38 AM
Subject: RE: [meteorite-list] Meteorite from Jupiter-- uh, I mean TO Jupiter


>>Hmmm Case closed I'd say ......
>
>i wouldbnt be so quick to judge based on this fact alone. the pic of the
>stone shows a very tiny specimin, maybe 50g tops. the smaller the rock the
>higher the surface area to weight ratio, meaning there is less cold soaked
>mass to absorb the heat of ablation. while i would easily belive a 5 ton
>iron would land cold (even freezing) to the touch, i would similarly belive
>a tiny stone could get warm to the touch.

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Received on Wed 21 Jun 2006 06:06:08 PM PDT