Formation of large craters on the earth as a result of impacts of natural cosmic bodies

Abstract

The consequences of the impacts of cosmic bodies on the Earth’s surface are analyzed. The conditions of large craters formation on the solid surface of the planet are calculated using the recently introduced technique. The α-β parametric plane is used to determine the bounds for the areas in which craters with radii greater than 100 m, 1 km, and 10 km can form, where α is the ballistic coefficient and β is the mass loss parameter. The relevant areas are located at limited values of the β parameter (for small but nonzero values of the α parameter), since a solid body evaporates intensely as it moves in the atmosphere if the β values are sufficiently large. Analysis of the ranges of the α and β variations can help in prediction of catastrophic consequences of entry of cosmic bodies into the Earth’s atmosphere. The values of these parameters should be estimated before impacts with the Earth. The mass and velocity of a body entering the atmosphere seem to be the most difficult to determine a priori. However, precise astronomical observations together with the relevant software will make it possible to cope with this task.