How bright of a bolide would a Saturn IV-B stage be if it hit Earth

[swampwiz]

Main Question or Discussion Point

I understand that there are a few of these still out there that have basically become Earth-crossing asteroids. It would seem that they wouldn't be as bright as the recent Chelyabinsk meteor.

 

[davenn]

from your title

How bright of a bolide would a Saturn IV-B stage be if it hit Earth

A technical correction, if it hit the Earth it wouldn't be bright.

You really meant " as it went through the Earth's atmosphere"

It would seem that they wouldn't be as bright as the recent Chelyabinsk meteor.

hard to say, maybe just as bright but not for as long a time

There are still 5 stages out there, Apollo's 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12


Dave

edited error

 

[hutchphd]

Well, they are of similar size and mass, so it would be interesting to see what they looked like in comparison

Not by my reckoning. The mass of the meteorite )Wikipedia) is estimated at 14,000 tons. The empty mass of the S IVB is less than 15 tons . .....

 

[davenn]

The mass of the meteorite )Wikipedia) is estimated at 14,000 tons

Ohh you are right I know where I mis-read ... edited

and that is meteor / meteoroid, not meteorite, recovered meteorite material is only around 1000kg = 1 tonne

 

[swampwiz]

Not by my reckoning. The mass of the meteorite )Wikipedia) is estimated at 14,000 tons. The empty mass of the S IVB is less than 15 tons . .....

Ah, I should have taken that into account. It wouldn't be much at all - perhaps not even strong enough to be a bolide. And of course, Skylab was about the same size