khukharev OP t1_j9xvtvm wrote on February 25, 2023 at 10:20 AM

Reply to comment by Nosferatu-87 in Is it possible (at least theoretically) for an meteorite to ricochet from Earth instead of exploding? Are there any known cases (even if not on Earth)? by khukharev

Honestly, I am not sure what options could realistically be, so let’s treat it as “all of the above”. The one I had in mind was mostly about surface contact at an angle that allows for ricochet. But ricocheting off atmosphere could be an interesting option too.

polaroppositebear t1_j9xx1n8 wrote on February 25, 2023 at 10:38 AM

Something would have to be going incredibly fast and be massive enough not to have it's momentum reduced by the impact, at which point it would probably just sheer off a chunk of earth as it kept going.

Atmosphere will do nothing but slow an object down, increasing its odds of slamming into earth. Our planet is pretty soft so the chance of a ricochet like a bullet off a steel plate is very low.

Edit: also, once a meteorite is deep enough in earth's gravity well it won't be able to escape without some form of propulsion.