Earth impact effects program jay melosh

The most probable angle of impact is 45 degrees. Click here for a pdf document that details the observations, assumptions, and equations upon which this program is based. It describes our approach to quantifying the important impact processes that might affect the people, buildings, and landscape in the vicinity of an impact event and discusses the uncertainty in our predictions.

The processes included are: atmospheric entry, impact crater formation, fireball expansion and thermal radiation, ejecta deposition, seismic shaking, and the propagation of the atmospheric blast wave. Recent improvements in the airblast calculation are described here.

Please enter values in the boxes below to describe your impact event of choice and your distance away. Then click "Calculate Effects" to learn about the environmental consequences. Impact Angle in degrees The impact angle is measured from a plane tangent to the impact surface. This angle is 90 degrees for a vertical impact. The most probable angle of impact is 45 degrees.