Why do meteorites disintegrate

This could be a benefit for life-forms on Earth, because it means fewer large meteors survive long enough to impact Earth's surface, the researchers said. Melosh presented the findings Dec. An estimated 44, kilograms 97, lbs. When meteors enter the planet's atmosphere, they heat up, and ultimately disintegrate. This is either because of something -called ram pressure or friction. However, the new research highlights a new way in which the atmosphere may break up meteors and protect Earth, the researchers said.

In the study, the researchers simulated the meteor that exploded over Chelyabinsk , Russia,on Feb. This pressure is so great that it causes the object to effectively blow up from the inside out, even if the material in the meteoroid is strong enough to resist the intense external atmospheric pressures. These figures from the study show how two computer-generated meteoroids break up over time while flying through the atmosphere.

Different materials in the cell use their individual identity, which is not appropriate for this kind of calculation.

However, the more we can learn about how different meteoritic materials explode, the more prepared we can be for the next Chelyabinsk. Strong aurorae dazzle astronauts on space station.

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That is according to a new study out of Purdue University, where researchers have been working to better understand exactly what happens when extraterrestrial objects barreling toward Earth wind up exploding during their descent.

The result is a kind of detonation that looks like an explosion. To explain the astrophysics, researchers focused their work on a widely viewed February meteoroid explosion place over Chelyabinsk, Russia, a city of 1.

According to The New York Times paywall , the explosion broke apart the meteoroid, but a smaller chunk still collided into the Earth, sending shockwaves through the town that blew out windows. In all, 1, people were injured, of them children—most of them by shattered glass.