Energy Release in the Atmosphere Induced by the Impact of Meteoroids 20–200 Meters in Size

Abstract—The results of calculating the destruction, evaporation, and deceleration of stony meteoroids with sizes from 20 to 200 m in the Earth’s atmosphere are presented. The redistribution of thermal and kinetic energy between the condensed matter of the meteoroid, its vapors, and air is studied in detail. It is shown that when the size of the impactor is several tens of meters, the vaporized matter is not decelerated immediately, but flies along the trajectory for a long time, gradually transferring energy to the air. As a result, the main energy release in the atmosphere occurs at the stage of vapor jet deceleration, after the meteoroid and its fragments have completely vaporized.