Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

What Kind of Bolide Would Chicxulub Be to Create the Bigger Airburst--Asteroid or Comet?

+0
−0

66 million years ago, something brought an end to the long-established dinosaur empire. The pendulum just kept shifting between an asteroid and a comet, astronomical bolides that actually have different chemistries, hence the distinctions.

Bolides that explode in midair are not unheard of. As of 2020, it remains the likeliest explanation for what happened in the remote Siberian land of Tunguska in 1908. And, of course, there is the numerous video evidence of such a thing at Chelyabinsk in 2013.

In an alternate Earth, the Chicxulub impactor breached the planet's atmosphere, but exploded at only five miles above sea level. With this specified detail, which kind of bolide impactor would detonate in a bigger explosion (therefore cause greater damage to life on Earth) at five miles above sea level--an asteroid or a comet?

History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/167340. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

0 comment threads

0 answers

Sign up to answer this question »