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(meteorobs) Meteorites and Terminal velocity
There was a recent discussion about meteorites heating up during the free
fall phase of dark flight. Last night while watching the History Channel,
there was a segment about Joe Kittinger jumping from a balloon at an altitude
of 20 miles. His velocity during the free fall reached over 700 mph before
reaching the denser part of the atmosphere with a slower terminal velocity.
His free fall lasted over 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Apparently his fall
didn't generate enough heat to damage his fragile human body. It wasn't
mentioned, but I believe I read somewhere else that he lost a glove on his
way up and suffered frost bite on a part of his exposed hand. I haven't come
across anything yet to indicate that he was hot to the touch upon landing
either. Although Joe isn't a meteorite, it should give some idea about what
temperatures a meteorite can expect to produce during free fall.
GeoZay
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