On Wed, 24 Nov 2004 21:59:50 +0000, Paul Winalski wrote:

What about the meteorite that punched a hole through a roof in
Wethersfield, CT some years back? Or the one in New York that drove
itself through a parked car?

Although I suppose those weren't still burning at the time of impact. But
they must have been hot enough to be glowing.

-Paul W.


No they were not "still burning" on impact and NEVER are. They cool off
high up in the atmosphere. They are never hot upon landing. This is an old
myth. The go through a period of what is called "Dark flight" before
landing. Remember, they are only hot for the first mm or 2 of their
surface as they enter, under that "fusion crust" they are unchanged and
uneffected. The rock itself is not aflame either. Ablation bleeds off a
lot of the heat, like a Apollo heatshield.