Astronomical School’s Report, 2011, Volume 7, Issue 2, Pages 241–244

https://doi.org/10.18372/2411-6602.07.2241
Download PDF
UDC 523.6+528.2

Thermal explosions of cometary nuclei in the Earth's atmosphere

Kruchinenko V.G., Churyumov K.I., Churyumova T.K., Melnik O.K.

Kyiv Shevchenko National University, Ukraine

Abstract

It is shown that the meteoroid explosion over the Mediterranean is likely generated by a comet body, the initial mass equal to about 7·108 g. This follows from certain authors of [12] flare energy equal to 26 kilotons of TNT. The authors suggest that this energy refers to the height of maximum deceleration. At a speed of 20.3 km/s, adopted by the authors, body weight at this height is 5·108 g, and during re-entry, it was about 7·108 g.

Keywords: dynamics of the Earth's atmosphere; interaction with cometary nuclei

References

  1. Bronshten V.A. (2000). Tungussky meteorit: istoriya issledovaniya. M.: A.D.Sel’yanov. 311 p.
  2. Voloschuk Yu.I., Kascheev B.L., Kruchinenko V.G. (1989). Meteory i meteornoe veschestvo. Kiev: Naukova Dumka. 294 p.
  3. Grigoryan S.S. (1979). O dvizhenii i razrushenii meteoritov v atmosferakh planet. Kosmich. issled., 17(6), 875–893.
  4. Zel’dovich Ya.B., Rayzer Yu.P. (1966). Fizika udarnykh voln i vysokotemperaturnykh gidrodinamicheskikh yavleny. M.: Nauka. 688 p.
  5. Kompaneets A.S. (1960). Tochechnyy vzryv v neodnorodnoy atmosfere. DAN SSSR, 130(5), 1001–1003.
  6. Kruchinenko V.G. (2000). Meteoritnye kratery na poverkhnosti Zemli. Kinematika i fizika nebes. tel., 16(6), 507–518.
  7. Kruchinenko V.G. (2002). Pritok kosmicheskikh tel na Zemlyu v shirokom intervale mass. Kinematika i fizika nebes. tel., 18(2), 114–127.
  8. Kruchinenko V.G. (2004). Teplovye vzryvy meteoroidov v atmosfere Zemli. Kinematika i fizika nebes. tel., 20(3), 269–282.
  9. Fesenkov V.G. (1959). O vozdushnoy volne, proizvedennoy padeniem Tungusskogo meteorita 1908 g. Meteoritika, 17, 3–7.
  10. Fesenkov V.G. (1961). O kometnoy prirode Tungusskogo meteorita. Astron. zhurn., 38(4), 577–592.
  11. Berezhnoi A.A., Shevchenko V.V., Klumov B.A., Fortov V.E. (1996). Collision of a comet with Jupiter: Determination of fragment penetration depths the molecular spectra. Pis'ma Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz., 63(6), 387–391. (1996 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-3640(96)00106-5]). https://doi.org/10.1134/1.567039
  12. Brown P., Spalding R.E., ReVelle D.O., et al. (2002). The flux of small near-Earth objects colliding with the Earth. Nature, 420, 314–316. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01238
  13. Foschini L. (1999). A solution for the Tunguska event. Astron. and Astrophys., 342, L1-L4.
  14. Hills J.G., Goda P. (1998). Damage from the impacts of small asteroids. Planet Space Sci, 46, 219–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0032-0633(97)00051-2
  15. Kruchinenko V.G. (1995). The Explosion in the Jupiter Atmosphere. Proc. of European SL/Jupiter Workshop / Eds.: by R.West and H.Boehnhard., 287–292.
  16. Kruchinenko V.G. (1997). The collision of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter. Astron. and Astrophys.Transactions., 13, 191–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/10556799708208131
  17. McCrosky R.E., Shao C.-Y., Posen A. (1976). Prairie network fireball data. I. Summary and orbits. Center for Astrophysics. Prep. Ser., 1976(665. – 13 p).
  18. McCrosky R.E., Shao C.-Y., Posen A. (1977). Prairie network fireball data. II. Trajectories and light curves. Center for Astrophysics. Prep. Ser., 1977(721. – 61 p).
  19. Nemtchinov I.V., Svetsov V.V., Kosarev I.B., et al. (1997). Assessment of kinetic energy of meteoroids detected by satellite-based light sensors. Icarus, 130(2), 259–274. https://doi.org/10.1006/icar.1997.5821
  20. ReVelle D.O. (1997). Historical detection of atmospheric impacts by large bolides using acoustic-gravity waves. Near-Earth Objects / Ed. Remo J. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences., 822, 284–302.
  21. Spurny P. (1997). Exceptional fireballs photographed in central Europe during the period 1993 – 1996. Planetary and Space Science / Spec. Issue: Asteroids, Comets, Meteors 1996-I., 45(5), 541–555. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0032-0633(97)00006-8
  22. Spurny P., Porubčan V. (2002). The EN171101 – the depest ever photographed fireball. Proc. of Asteroids, Comets, Meteors (ACM 2002). 29 Juli – 2 August 2002. Technical University Berlin. Germany (ESA–500). – Nov. 2002., 269–272.
  23. Tagliaferri E. (1995). Satellite Observations of Large Meteoroid Impacts. Report at “Workshop on Satellite Observation of Meteoroid Impacts into the Atmosphere”, Sandia National Laboratories. – May 1995. Albuquerque. .
  24. Whipple F.L. (1950). The theory of micro-meteorites. Part I. In an isothermal atmosphere. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. Amer., 36(12), 686–695. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.36.12.687
  25. Whipple F.L. (1951). The theory of micro-meteorites. Part II. In heterothermal atmospheres. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. Amer., 37(1), 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.37.1.19

Download PDF