Please note: the results below are estimates based on current (limited) understanding of the impact process and come with large uncertainties; they should be used with caution, particularly in the case of peculiar input parameters. All values are given to three significant figures but this does not reflect the precision of the estimate. For more information about the uncertainty associated with our calculations and a full discussion of this program, please refer to this article
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Your Inputs:
- Distance from Impact: 100.00 km ( = 62.10 miles )
- Projectile diameter: 400.00 meters ( = 1310.00 feet )
- Projectile Density: 3000 kg/m3
- Impact Velocity: 30.00 km per second ( = 18.60 miles per second )
- Impact Angle: 80 degrees
- Target Density: 2500 kg/m3
- Target Type: Sedimentary Rock
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Energy:
- Energy before atmospheric entry: 4.52 x 1019 Joules = 1.08 x 104 MegaTons TNT
- The average interval between impacts of this size somewhere on Earth during the last 4 billion years is 1.4 x 105years
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Major Global Changes:
- The Earth is not strongly disturbed by the impact and loses negligible mass.
- The impact does not make a noticeable change in the tilt of Earth's axis (< 5 hundreths of a degree).
- The impact does not shift the Earth's orbit noticeably.
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Atmospheric Entry:
- The projectile begins to breakup at an altitude of 63100 meters = 207000 ft
- The projectile reaches the ground in a broken condition. The mass of projectile strikes the surface at velocity 29.5 km/s = 18.3 miles/s
- The energy lost in the atmosphere is 1.38 x 1018 Joules = 3.29 x 102 MegaTons.
- The impact energy is 4.39 x 1019 Joules = 1.05 x 104MegaTons.
- The larger of these two energies is used to estimate the airblast damage.
- The broken projectile fragments strike the ground in an ellipse of dimension 0.583 km by 0.574 km
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Crater Dimensions:
- What does this mean?
- Crater shape is normal in spite of atmospheric crushing; fragments are not significantly dispersed.
- Transient Crater Diameter:
7.37 km ( = 4.58 miles )
- Transient Crater Depth: 2.61 km ( = 1.62 miles )
- Final Crater Diameter:
9.62 km ( = 5.97 miles )
- Final Crater Depth: 585 meters ( = 1920 feet )
- The crater formed is a complex crater.
- The volume of the target melted or vaporized is 0.384 km3 = 0.0922 miles3
- Roughly half the melt remains in the crater, where its average thickness is 9 meters ( = 29.5 feet ).
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Thermal Radiation:
- What does this mean?
- Time for maximum radiation: 239 milliseconds after impact
- Visible fireball radius: 6.27 km ( = 3.89 miles )
- The fireball appears 14.2 times larger than the sun
- Thermal Exposure: 1.80 x 106 Joules/m2
- Duration of Irradiation: 1.53 minutes
- Radiant flux (relative to the sun): 19.6 (Flux from a burner on full at a distance of 10 cm)
- Effects of Thermal Radiation:
Much of the body suffers second degree burns
Newspaper ignites
Deciduous trees ignite
Grass ignites
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Seismic Effects:
- What does this mean?
The major seismic shaking will arrive approximately 20 seconds after impact.- Richter Scale Magnitude: 7.3
- Mercalli Scale Intensity at a distance of 100 km:
VI. Felt by all, many frightened. Some heavy furniture moved; a few instances of fallen plaster. Damage slight.
VII. Damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight to moderate in well-built ordinary structures; considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures; some chimneys broken.
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Ejecta:
- What does this mean?
The ejecta will arrive approximately 2.4 minutes after the impact.- At your position there is a fine dusting of ejecta with occasional larger fragments
- Average Ejecta Thickness: 2.64 cm ( = 1.04 inches )
- Mean Fragment Diameter: 6.06 cm ( = 2.39 inches )
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Air Blast:
- What does this mean?
The air blast will arrive approximately 5.05 minutes after impact.- Peak Overpressure: 31700 Pa = 0.317 bars = 4.5 psi
- Max wind velocity: 66.2 m/s = 148 mph
- Sound Intensity: 90 dB (May cause ear pain)
- Damage Description:
Wood frame buildings will almost completely collapse.
Glass windows will shatter.
Up to 90 percent of trees blown down; remainder stripped of branches and leaves.
Tell me more...
Click here for a pdf document that details the observations, assumptions, and equations upon which this program is based. It
describes our approach to quantifying the important impact processes that might affect the people, buildings, and landscape in the
vicinity of an impact event and discusses the uncertainty in our predictions. The processes included are: atmospheric entry, impact
crater formation, fireball expansion and thermal radiation, ejecta deposition, seismic shaking, and the propagation of the atmospheric
blast wave.
Recent improvements in the airblast calculation are described here.
Earth Impact Effects Program Copyright 2004, Robert Marcus, H.J. Melosh, and G.S. Collins
These results come with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY