[meteorite-list] Fwd: Re: When the Moon hits your eye like a really, really, really big pizza pie

From: Meteorites USA <eric_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:03:22 -0700
Message-ID: <4A37FA8A.8000306_at_meteoritesusa.com>

Carl,

My understanding of this phenomena is that the meteoroid must be very
large to hold enough heat all the way to the ground sufficient enough to
possibly start a fire. In other words it would most likely haver to be
traveling at cosmic velocity at impact with the ground. Which is not
possible for a small sized meteoroid. Of course the word small is
subjective.

So to answer your question I would say yes. A very large meteorite
impact causes intense heat... Probably enough to start a fire, but only
if the meteoroid has enough mass and speed. The angle of decent has a
lot to do with the ability of the meteoroid to retain it's cosmic
velocity. As does it's composition. If it's a stony meteorite and very
large it might make impact and may be hot but we don't know really. Look
at Carancas meteorite. This chondrite was supposedly 10 ft in diameter
according to Wikipedia's article here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Peruvian_meteorite_event

It blew out windows 1km away, and the crater was some 43 feet across and
15 ft deep. The SAO/NASA ADS at Harvard.edu site has the speed at 2-4
kms, And the size at 0.9 to 1.7 m. Still small... "...This example
demonstrates that meteoroid strength can vary significantly from case to
case and does not depend on meteoroid size..."

The West, Texas fall (Ash Creek) was reported by eye witnesses to be as
large as a truck. That would be a few tons in weight. Peekskill of
course was supposedly warm to the touch right after falling. And then of
course you have the report just a little while back about a supposed
meteorite being so hot right after falling in the middle of a village in
India that the valligers had to douse it with water to cool it enough to
touch. This didn't seem right to me, and I thought it might have been
sensationalist reporting. Not to mention the unconfirmed story of a pea
sized meteorite hitting a German boy just last week. Reportedly this
meteoroid was traveling at 30,000 mph when it struck the boy in the back
of the hand. NOT!

So why did the West Texas, and Peekskill meteoroids breakup? For that
matter, Consider Buzzard Coulee too. If what the information on
Harvard's site says is correct, then composition has a lot to do with a
meteoroid retaining enough speed to make a crater, or be hot upon
impact. Considering this why wouldn't it be feasible to compare
compositions, angle of descent, and speed to figure out why Carancas
created a crater and the other recent falls didn't.

Buzzard Coulee - H4
Carancas - H4-5
West Texas (Ash Creek) - L6
Peekskill - H6
Park Forest - L5

What does it take for a meteorite to be hot after impact? It varies...
All conditions have to be perfect. Are there really too many variables
to consider?

Regards,
Eric Wichman
Meteorites USA




dtucson at cox.net wrote:
>
>> Rob,
>> You said
>> "And don't get me started on the meteors burning all the way to the ground "
>> I'm no expert but?
>> Meteors may not burn all the way to the ground but it is believed possible that an impact can be hot enough to melt the ground into Tektite glass, right? So, wouldn't that generate sufficient heat to start a fire if it hit a source of fuel like a wooded area? Carancas hit hard enough to boil the water in the water well it hit (true fact). Many witnesses to that. But there was no fuel there to burn so no actual fire broke out.
>> So, I can almost see why they would depict the meteors as hot and fiery but the real cause of fires being started is from the heat caused by the impact not the heat of the actual meteor, right? My 2 cents.
>> Carl Esparza
>> IMCA 5829
>>
>> ---- Rob McCafferty <rob_mccafferty at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Seriously, I'm in the wrong job. I've spent much of the last year putting together a mission to Mars game for our school. You can select individual crew members. For example, one is from the Kashmir region of India, one of her languages is a local dialect and her name is a traditional Kashmiri name, all carefully researched.
>>>
>>> If I'm capable of this level of attention to detail then how are the makers of "Impact" capable of getting something on the air that includes a fallen lunar meteorite crater that is so magnetic it disrupts a compass from a distance? I mean, if that's supposed to show some sort of research into meteorites it pays lipservice only. I want to go round and bite their ankles.
>>>
>>> And don't get me started on the meteors burning all the way to the ground or shooting down meteor fragments with F-15 fighters. ARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!
>>>
>>> At least Space 1999, had a the excuse of naievety to much of it.
>>> Anyone remember the scene in 3rd Rock From the Sun where they were laughing at Star Wars' depiction of space? "Impact" would have them in apoplexy.
>>>
>>>
>>> --- On Mon, 6/15/09, Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> From: Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net>
>>>> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] When the Moon hits your eye like a really, really, really big pizza pie
>>>> To: cynapse at charter.net, Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>>> Date: Monday, June 15, 2009, 7:43 PM
>>>> Hi, Darren, List,
>>>>
>>>> The commentator who thinks this
>>>> sets a new low for American television
>>>> and astronomical science was obviously
>>>> fortunate enough to have missed the
>>>> series "Space 1999" (to name only one).
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Sterling K. Webb
>>>> -------------------------------------------------------
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Darren Garrison" <cynapse at charter.net>
>>>> To: <Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
>>>> Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 11:21 AM
>>>> Subject: [meteorite-list] When the Moon hits your eye like
>>>> a really, really,really big pizza pie
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/06/15/if-i-watch-this-i-hope-the-moon-will-hit-the-earth/
>>>>> ______________________________________________
>>>>> http://www.meteoritecentral.com
>>>>> Meteorite-list mailing list
>>>>> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>>>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>>>>
>>>> ______________________________________________
>>>> http://www.meteoritecentral.com
>>>> Meteorite-list mailing list
>>>> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> ______________________________________________
>>> http://www.meteoritecentral.com
>>> Meteorite-list mailing list
>>> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>>
>
> ______________________________________________
> http://www.meteoritecentral.com
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
>

-- 
Regards,
Eric Wichman
Meteorites USA
http://www.meteoritesusa.com
904-236-5394

Received on Tue 16 Jun 2009 04:03:22 PM PDT