What is the average speed of a meteor;when it first encounters the upper levels of our atmosphere???

Question

Thanks for your info...Tom Science 4

Answer 1

They are all faster than 25,000 MPH, because that is escape velocity and anything falling from interplanetary space will be accelerated by the Earth's gravity by that amount. Basically the speed would be 25,000 MPH plus whatever speed at which they are approaching Earth, which is typically tens of thousands of miles per hour. So 50,000 MPH or more is not unusual.

Answer 2

15,000 mph to 30,000 mph. The bigger concern is the impact angle of the meteor, the steeper the angle the more damage it causes.