# How many megatons was the chixculub meteor impact equal to?

by Kutt
Tags: chixculub, equal, impact, megatons, meteor
 P: 236 How many megatons was the pre-historic chixculub meteor impact equal to? This was estimated to be millions of times more powerful than the cumulative explosive power of all of the nuclear weapons in the world combined. It caused the extinction of most life on Earth during that time (namely the dinosaurs) and even caused the oceans to evaporate. This meteor was about 6 miles in diameter. If a 6-mile meteor is capable of doing that, imagine the kind of damage an asteroid the size of Texas could do.
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 Quote by Kutt If a 6-mile meteor is capable of doing that, imagine the kind of damage an asteroid the size of Texas could do.
If you think that's bad, imagine the kind of damage an asteroid the size of Alaska might cause.
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 Quote by Jimmy Snyder If you think that's bad, imagine the kind of damage an asteroid the size of Alaska might cause.
I thought that Texas was about as big as they get?

Apparently Mars was hit by a Texas-sized asteroid several billion years ago..

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...-dynamo-death/

Mentor
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## How many megatons was the chixculub meteor impact equal to?

Only in mediocre music-video-movies.

The largest near earth asteroid (ie, in the asteroid belt) is much smaller, at 34 km: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/433_Eros

But other objects from the outer solar system can be much, much larger. Eris, for example, is more than 2000 km in diameter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_(dwarf_planet)
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 Quote by russ_watters Only in mediocre music-video-movies. The largest near earth asteroid (ie, in the asteroid belt) is much smaller, at 34 km: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/433_Eros But other objects from the outer solar system can be much, much larger. Eris, for example, is more than 2000 km in diameter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_(dwarf_planet)
Supposedly, billions of years ago, Earth collided with a planet the size of Mars.

Somehow, the planet survived, and the fractured pieces of crust is what eventually formed the moon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_impact_hypothesis
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 Quote by Kutt Supposedly, billions of years ago, Earth collided with a planet the size of Mars. Somehow, the planet survived,[B] and the fractured pieces of crust is what eventually formed the moon.
Just being picky, but the moon is composed primarily of mantle material from the proto-Earth, rather than crust. The impact hypothesis only became plausible after we had had the opportunity to examine the Apollo rocks.
One megaton is about 5x1015 Joules. The energy in Joules of the impact will be $\frac{mv^2}{2}$ where v is in meters/sec and m is in kilograms. Make some reasonable assumptions about the size, density, and speed of the meteor, and see what you come up with.
 Quote by Nugatory One megaton is about 5x1015 Joules. The energy in Joules of the impact will be $\frac{mv^2}{2}$ where v is in meters/sec and m is in kilograms. Make some reasonable assumptions about the size, density, and speed of the meteor, and see what you come up with.