I wonder what would happen if a large one came in directly perpendicular to the ground at high speed (for a meteor). Like the atmosphere is really pretty thin and that trajectory would have the least exposure to it.
It probably wouldn’t change the outcome much. Meteorites usually have a relative velocity to earth of 8-50 kilometres per second. At those speeds, it moves much faster than a ballistic missile, and those things haul ass. Whether entering at 25 degrees or 90, it would instantly turn the air to plasma and pass through the troposphere and hit the ground in just a few seconds.
I wonder what would happen if a large one came in directly perpendicular to the ground at high speed (for a meteor). Like the atmosphere is really pretty thin and that trajectory would have the least exposure to it.
It probably wouldn’t change the outcome much. Meteorites usually have a relative velocity to earth of 8-50 kilometres per second. At those speeds, it moves much faster than a ballistic missile, and those things haul ass. Whether entering at 25 degrees or 90, it would instantly turn the air to plasma and pass through the troposphere and hit the ground in just a few seconds.