[meteorite-list] Fireball question / sonic boom

[Chris Peterson]

I think most large fireballs do not produce meteorites. Most meteorites are 
the product of rather ordinary meteors, which survive because they are slow 
and shallow and slow down while still very high, don't fragment, and produce 
single individuals. Of course, the vast majority of these are never found, 
and those that are have no associated fireball. When there are big 
fireballs- the sort that get meteorite hunters salivating- the situation is 
different. Most big fireballs probably don't produce meteorites. Those that 
do, however, do so because they start off with enough mass that they can 
afford to lose 95% of it and still have something get low enough to hit 
dense air at a low enough speed to avoid complete destruction. That height 
is below about 30 km, which happens to be about the height where sonic booms 
can be produced and reach the ground. So the presence of a sonic boom with a 
fireball is a useful indicator that meteorites might be produced. The 
absence of one, however, probably shouldn't be taken as an indicator that 
they were not, since a meteor can still end (without complete ablation) high 
enough that no sonic boom will reach the ground.

Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <wahlperry at aol.com>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 7:34 AM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Fireball question / sonic boom


> Hi List,
>
> It seems like there have been many fireball sightings in the past few 
> months but no material being found on the ground, as in the recent 
> Oklahoma event. I was wondering if the absence of a sonic boom has 
> anything to do with it.
> Does a sonic boom or explosion have to be present for a major meteorite 
> producing event? Could there still be a few meteorites on the ground with 
> no sonic boom? With Buzzard Coulee, Mifflin, Ash Creek these events all 
> produced meteorites and sonic booms were heard by the locals. Does anyone 
> know if there were sonic booms associated with the Park Forest and 
> Whetstone events?
>
> Thanks,
> Sonny
>
>
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