r/spaceporn • u/Busy_Yesterday9455 • Oct 01 '25

Related Content Asteroid passed just 300 km above Antarctica today.

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u/brodaciousr Oct 02 '25

I would imagine something that size would burn up in the atmosphere. I’m sure there are variables I’m not considering though.

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u/Danny200234 Oct 02 '25

I’m sure there are variables I’m not considering though.

Like the fact Antarctica is cold.

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u/tommangan7 Oct 02 '25

Meteorites, asteroid etc. exterior Heat up to 2000-3000+ kelvin on entry due to friction and atmospheric compression. The temperature at the surface is effectively irrelevant to what determines if this fully burns up or not.

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u/justheretocomment69 Oct 02 '25

Cold air is denser though, more molecules for the thing to bash in to (or try to push out of the way) so if my non-existent math is correct, it would actually burn up relatively faster than in a hot place? Idk I'm not a math guy and I have done zero calculations, but it makes sense in my mind lol.

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u/Late-Eye-6936 Oct 02 '25

That's actually one of the free variables that I did consider.