Why are meteors far more likely to streak across the sky instead of coming straight down?

Question

Such as the Tunguska blast caused by a meteror or comet streaking across the Siberian sky?

In response to nick, I add this to the question, "Why are objects are far more likely to enter at a shallow angle relative to the ground than a large one?"

Answer 1

It's simply perspective.

If you are watching someone throw a baseball or cricket ball, unless he throws it straight at you, it will move in a path acroos your field of vision. If it was a flaming ball and you were watching him at night, they would make a visible path, just as meteors do.

I have seen a meteor strike head-on, and it just makes a small explosion in one spot - no trail.

The vast majority are not going to come straight at you, just by the law of averages. All those will appear to leave a trail

Your question:

I think I know what you are asking. The fact is that meteors move so fast that even if they come in only 10 deg off directly towards you, they will produce a fast streak. However, in general, if it make a shorter streak, it is probably a very steep angle; if it produces a long streak, it is probably a shallow angle.

I don't know if the angle of strike is anything other than random. Larger meteoroids have been seen to go straight through the atmosphere at a very shallow angle, and off into space again.

That is a scenario that Apollo asronuats returning from the moon faced. Come in too steep and you burn up; come in too shallow and you bounce of the atmosphere into space and never come back. Apollo 13 was particularly tricky as they had to manually guide the moon lander which was never meant for that purpose.

Answer 2

Because these objects are moving through space at very high velocities to begin with. The combination of gravity trying to pull them straight down and their high linear speed result in a parabolic descent. Notice that the shuttle when re-entering from space follows the same kind of path and for the same reason.

Answer 3

it is highly unlikely for a meteor to fall straight down because there is a very small chance that a meteor is traveling directly towards earth, it usually misses it by a few hundred thousand miles, but its course changes as earth's gravitational pull changes its angle of travel, therefore it misses earth but its direction changes, because it is traveling so fast, not even earth's gravitational pull is strong enough to pull it into the earth, instead the meteor will change direction and continue off somewhere else

Answer 4

As the meteor enters the gravitational pull and atmosphere of earth it is deflected at an angle. That's why they strike earth at an angle.

Answer 5

Because they usually are pulled into an elliptical orbit before entering the Earth's atmosphere.

Answer 6

They try to resist the Earth's gravity, but are pulled down after a while.

Answer 7

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