Key Points
Unlike the meteorites that make direct contact with the earth, he explained, airbursts happen in the atmosphere and leave little evidence in the geologic record.. a)..
A new study published in the ScienceOpen journal Airbursts and Cratering Impacts has revealed new insights into the potentially devastating effects of cosmic airbursts...
These explosive events, caused by space rocks or comet fragments crashing into Earth's atmosphere, occur more frequently than large asteroid impacts but have been poorly understood until now...
Led by UC Santa Barbara emeritus earth scientist James Kennett, researchers have developed detailed models of "touchdown" airbursts - explosions that occur close enough to Earth's surface to cause significant damage...
They simulated various scenarios involving asteroids and comets of different sizes, comparing their results with real-world data from historical events like the Tunguska (1908) and Chelyabinsk (2013) airbursts in Russia, as well as the 1945 Trinity nuclear test in New Mexico...
