What meteor would make the biggest crater a big meteor or a heavy meteor or a fast moving meteor?

Answer 1

To put it simply, let's look at the question.

Biggest (Radius), heaviest (Mass) or fastest (Velocity)

The largest crater would be created by all three combined.

Also, the size of the crater would be dependant on the ground it struck. A larger crater would be produced if it were a soft material like sand, whereas granite would only shatter and not make much of an impact.

An object with the radius of tennis ball, would create a crater about the size of a tennis ball if dropped from say 50ft

A lump of lead the size of a tennis ball would make a larger crater from the same height.

A bullet travelling at 3,200 fps would make a small crater, but much larger than its initial radius or mass.

So what would you rather be hit by?

a) A large sheet of foam travelling at 10mph (Radius)

b) A truck travelling at 5 mph (Mass)

c) A bullet travelling at 3,200 fps. (Velocity)

d) A bullet thrown at you (Low velocity)

So, there is now way to answer the question, as all three are dependant on one another. An object with a large radius but low velocity will not make a larger crater than a massive object with a high velocity. Ditto, a massive object with low velocity will not make a larger crater than a bigger object with high velocity.

Answer 2

The size of the crater created by a meteor impact is primarily determined by the size and speed of the meteor. A larger meteor will generally make a bigger crater, while a faster-moving meteor will also create a larger crater due to the increased kinetic energy upon impact. The weight of the meteor does not have as significant an impact on crater size as size and speed do.