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Discussion on: Douglas Adams's Whale

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Ryan Palo

I started to type a response, and then realized that the math (and assumptions required) was a bit more complicated than I initially thought. I think I can come up with an answer, but it'll take blog post sequel. I did find this while researching, however, on this site:

Very large meteorites, of 100 tonnes [similar in mass to a Blue Whale, for example ;)] or more are not slowed by atmospheric drag as much as their smaller cousins, they are still travelling so fast that they explode or vaporize on impact. They will explode with the effect of a nuclear bomb. This forms a crater far bigger than the meteorite. Immense volumes of rock, melted and blasted out by the explosion, eventually fall back to Earth hundreds or even thousands of kilometres from the impact crater.

Gnarly!