Abstract
ALTHOUGH nine out of ten of the average meteorites are stoney, the larger objects which collide with the Earth may be predominantly iron. This reversal in characteristics is suggested by the different size law for stone and iron meteorites. The number of impacts on the Earth's surface, N (km−2 year−1), with initial mass greater than m∞ (kg), is at the present time: These equations can be derived from existing meteorite data1,2 by assuming that 90 per cent of a stone and 80 per cent of an iron are ablated.
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References
Hawkins, G. S., Astro. J., 65, 18 (1960).
Hawkins, G. S., Lunar and Planetary Exploration, North American Aviation, 2, 5 (1961).
Brown, H. S., J. Geophys. Res., 65, 1679 (1960).
Opik, E. J., Irish. Astro. J., 5, 35 (1958).
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HAWKINS, G. Impacts on the Earth and Moon. Nature 197, 781 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1038/197781a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/197781a0
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