Please note: the results below are estimates based on current (limited) understanding of the impact process and come with large uncertainties; they should be used with caution, particularly in the case of peculiar input parameters. All values are given to three significant figures but this does not reflect the precision of the estimate. For more information about the uncertainty associated with our calculations and a full discussion of this program, please refer to this article

Your Inputs: Distance from Impact: 160.00 km ( = 99.40 miles ) Projectile diameter: 9.10 meters ( = 29.80 feet ) Projectile Density: 680388 kg/m3 Impact Velocity: 15000.00 km per second ( = 9320.00 miles per second ) (Your chosen velocity is higher than the maximum for an object orbiting the sun) Impact Angle: 90 degrees Target Density: 3000 kg/m3 Target Type: Crystalline Rock

Energy: Energy before atmospheric entry: 3.02 x 1022 Joules = 7.21 x 106 MegaTons TNT The average interval between impacts of this size somewhere on Earth during the last 4 billion years is 2.1 x 107years

Major Global Changes: The Earth is not strongly disturbed by the impact and loses negligible mass. The impact does not make a noticeable change in the tilt of Earth's axis (< 5 hundreths of a degree). The impact does not shift the Earth's orbit noticeably.

Atmospheric Entry: The projectile lands intact, with a velocity 15000 km/s = 9300 miles/s. The energy lost in the atmosphere is 1.17 x 1020 Joules = 2.79 x 104 MegaTons.

Crater Dimensions: What does this mean?





Transient Crater Diameter: 34.5 km ( = 21.4 miles ) Transient Crater Depth: 12.2 km ( = 7.57 miles )

Final Crater Diameter: 54.9 km ( = 34.1 miles ) Final Crater Depth: 988 meters ( = 3240 feet ) The crater formed is a complex crater. The volume of the target melted or vaporized is 268 km3 = 64.2 miles3 Roughly half the melt remains in the crater, where its average thickness is 287 meters ( = 942 feet ).

Thermal Radiation: What does this mean?





Time for maximum radiation: 4.15 milliseconds after impact

Visible fireball radius: 60.2 km ( = 37.4 miles ) The fireball appears 85.5 times larger than the sun Thermal Exposure: 5.38 x 108 Joules/m2 Duration of Irradiation: 13.5 minutes Radiant flux (relative to the sun): 666

Effects of Thermal Radiation:



Clothing ignites



Much of the body suffers third degree burns



Newspaper ignites



Plywood flames



Deciduous trees ignite



Grass ignites



Seismic Effects: What does this mean?





The major seismic shaking will arrive approximately 32 seconds after impact. Richter Scale Magnitude: 9.2 Mercalli Scale Intensity at a distance of 160 km:



IX. General panic. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations. Serious damage to reservoirs. Underground pipes broken. Conspicuous cracks in ground. In alluviated areas sand and mud ejected, earthquake fountains, sand craters.



X. Most masonry and frame structures destroyed with their foundations. Some well-built wooden structures and bridges destroyed. Serious damage to dams, dikes, embankments. Large landslides. Water thrown on banks of canals, rivers, lakes, etc. Sand and mud shifted horizontally on beaches and flat land. Rails bent slightly.

Ejecta: What does this mean?





The ejecta will arrive approximately 3.06 minutes after the impact. At your position there is a fine dusting of ejecta with occasional larger fragments Average Ejecta Thickness: 3.07 meters ( = 10.1 feet ) Mean Fragment Diameter: 10.5 cm ( = 4.13 inches )

Air Blast: What does this mean?





The air blast will arrive approximately 8.08 minutes after impact. Peak Overpressure: 1.07e+06 Pa = 10.7 bars = 152 psi Max wind velocity: 790 m/s = 1770 mph Sound Intensity: 121 dB (Dangerously Loud) Damage Description:



Multistory wall-bearing buildings will collapse.



Wood frame buildings will almost completely collapse.



Multistory steel-framed office-type buildings will suffer extreme frame distortion, incipient collapse.



Highway truss bridges will collapse.



Highway girder bridges will collapse.



Glass windows may shatter.



Glass windows will shatter.



Cars and trucks will be largely displaced and grossly distorted and will require rebuilding before use.



Up to 90 percent of trees blown down; remainder stripped of branches and leaves.



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.

Earth Impact Effects Program Copyright 2004, Robert Marcus, H.J. Melosh, and G.S. Collins

These results come with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY