Weather Tidbits: Why Meteors Burn in Earth’s Atmosphere

We’ll be discussing why meteors burn when entering the Earth’s atmosphere in this edition of Weather Tidbits. When meteors enter earth’s atmosphere, they do so very fast at tens of thousands of miles. This causes rapid collision and friction of air molecules against the meteor rock. The friction generates intense heat. Additionally, air is being rapidly compressed onto the meteor. Air compression also generates heat. The combination of air friction and compression can produce temperatures as high as 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus, the meteor ignites as at travels through the Earth’s atmosphere at such a fast rate. This typically burns the meteor all up, meaning it is very rare for a meteor to survive the trip down to the surface.