Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

A lot depends on the initial velocity and angle of impact.

Considering that the earths atmosphere isn’t much more than 100km thick, and a meteor could in theory come in head-on with an initial velocity of 70km per second, there isn’t going to much time for it to slow down.



70km/s is interstellar material


Based on some quick googling (not an expert in the related physics like some sibling commenters seem to be), earth’s orbital velocity around the sun is ~30km/s and the sun’s orbital velocity around the center of the galaxy is 250km/s


Air resistance is to first approximation quadratic with velocity. High initial velocities lead to very high braking force, so it wouldn't have 70 km/s for very long. Also see surrounding comments for more related physics.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: