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Damage from the impacts of small asteroids

Description: The fragmentation of a small asteroid in the atmosphere greatly increases its aerodynamic drag and rate of energy dissipation. The differential atmospheric pressure across it disperses its fragments at a velocity that increases with atmospheric density and impact velocity and decreases with asteroid density. Extending our previous work, we use a spherical atmosphere and a fitted curve to its density profile to find the damage done by an asteroid entering the atmosphere at various zenith angles.… more
Date: August 15, 1996
Creator: Hills, J.G. & Goda, M.P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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