Why does meteorite impact angle affect crater size?

Answer 1

Typically the larger and deeper the dimensions of a crater, the more energy (KE) the meteorite had on impact. This generally means that a meteor was massive enough to breach Earth's atmosphere without loosing significant amounts of material. Thus we can infer that the larger the impact crater the more massive the meteor was. As for the actual dimensions, little inference can be made as mass and size do not always correlate directly.

Answer 2

The impact angle affects the shape and size of a crater because it influences how energy is transferred upon impact. A low-angle impact produces a shallower, wider crater as the energy is dispersed horizontally, while a steep impact angle results in a deeper, narrower crater with more energy focused in a vertical direction. The angle also determines how much material is ejected from the impact site, affecting the overall size and shape of the crater.

Answer 3

Yes and no. There are many types of objects which have created craters on the Earth and elsewhere. A comet is an icy ball of dust and gas. The crater a comet leaves will generally be very small and shallow in comparison to its size. Chondrite or rocky meteors will leave, in general, a larger crater since they are more dense than a comet. Iron meteorites are very dense and can leave a very large crater when they hit another object. An iron meteorite the size of a car tire can weigh 1000 pounds or 450 kilograms. The other factors to take into consideration are the speed of the meteor relative to the body it hits (some can travel as fast as 40,000 miles per hour or 64,000 kph) and whether the object it is striking has an atmosphere. Like jumping into a pool from a great height, you notice how hard the water is, while slipping into the pool from the edge the water seems quite easy to pass through. The same is for a meteor hitting the Earth's atmosphere. At 40,000 mph, our atmosphere is like hitting a pool off the high dive. Most off the force of a meteorite is adsorbed by our atmosphere. On our Moon which has no atmosphere, object will make a larger crater than they ever could on Earth.

Answer 4

A meteor is traveling quite fast when what didn't burn in our atmosphere hits the ground. That energy is expended in a displacement of the material it strikes. That causes earth to move away from the impact area leaving a hole.

Answer 5

density is the measure of how much matter is packed into a certain volume. so, if you have something with the density of 1 (water) hitting the earth v something with a density of 100, the 100 is going to make a much bigger crater because if you took a cubic foot of both of those, and dropped it from lets say, the summit of mount Everest, i have a feeling you know which makes the bigger crater

Answer 6

D=kE^n

where D = diameter

k = some constant

E = energy = mgh (mass x acceleration of gravity x height)

n = some power

Answer 7

A head on collision will yield a deeper impact crater, where as a side swipe will leave a larger area scarred but with minimal penetration into the earths crust.

Answer 8

Yes it does.

Answer 9

Yes, it does.

Answer 10

Kinetic energy.