How hot is a asteroid impact explosion.?

Question

What is the temperter of a asteroid impact fireball explosion,a asteroid with a size beween 1 mile to 580 mile wide,moving at 50,000 to 134.000 MPH.

Answer 1

There's an online calculator! I've included the URL in the Sources field. You set up the parameters of your asteroid (size, velocity, density, angle of impact) and the target (water, sedimentary rock or crystalline rock), then it calculates the results.

Be sure to put yourself far enough away from the impact or all you'll get is "Your position was inside the transient crater and was ejected on impact."

While the calculator itself doesn't show temperature, the article they reference says that vaporized material (that is, the fireball) immediately after the impact will have a temperature greater than 10,000 degrees Kelvin. (The Kelvin scale, for those unfamiliar with it, is essentially the same as the Celsius scale but indexed to absolute zero, or -273 degrees Celsius -- that is, 273 degrees below the freezing point of water, the temperature at which all atomic motion ceases.)

Play with the distance from the impact site and you'll see the program print out the results of the fireball -- that is, at which point do buildings ignite, etc. It's instructive, and a little frightening, and a lot of fun to play with.