Published December 23, 1977
| public
Journal Article
Meteorite Impact Ejecta: Dependence of Mass and Energy Lost on Planetary Escape Velocity
- Creators
- O'Keefe, John D.
- Ahrens, Thomas J.
Abstract
The calculated energy efficiency of mass ejection for iron and anorthosite objects striking an anorthosite planet at speeds of 5 to 45 kilometers per second decreases with increasing impact velocity at low escape velocities. At escape velocities of > 10^5 and > 2 x 10^4 centimeters per second, respectively, the slower impactors produce relatively less ejecta for a given impact energy. The impact velocities at which ejecta losses equal meteorite mass gains are found to be approximately 20, 35, and 45 kilometers per second for anorthosite objects and approximately 25, 35, and 40 kilometers per second for iron objects striking anorthosite surfaces for the gravity fields of the moon, Mercury, and Mars.
Additional Information
© 1977 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Received 24 June 1977; revised 22 August 1977. This research was supported by NASA grant NSG 7129. We appreciate critical comments on the manuscript by H. Melosh and R. Jeanloz and the computational assistance of M. Lainhart. This is contribution No. 2928 of the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 62129
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20151116-133940996
- NSG 7129
- NASA
- Created
-
2015-11-18Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2021-11-10Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Other Numbering System Name
- Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences
- Other Numbering System Identifier
- 2928