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What causes a meteoroid to fragment during its flight through the atmosphere?
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Meteor and meteoroid
The Cabin Creek meteorite, an iron (nickel-iron alloy) meteorite that was observed to fall in northwestern Arkansas on March 27, 1886. Its characteristic pattern of “thumbprint” dimples, or regmaglypts, is the result of melting and consequent ablation of its surface as it traveled through the atmosphere. The meteorite is likely a fragment of one of the M class asteroids, which show significant nickel-iron in their surface material.
A meteoroid fragments during its flight through the atmosphere primarily due to aerodynamic pressure that exceeds the object's internal crushing strength.1
As a meteoroid enters the atmosphere at high velocity, it encounters significant resistance from atmospheric gas molecules. This interaction creates intense heat—leading to ablation, or the loss of surface material—and generates a shock wave in the air ahead of the object. The combination of these extreme aerodynamic forces and thermal stresses can cause the meteoroid to break apart. For larger objects, this fragmentation is often catastrophic, sometimes resulting in powerful atmospheric explosions.1