Calculate the Energy of an Asteroid Impact
Calculator for the approximate energy released when an asteroid or meteorite hits. This energy is the kinetic energy of the asteroid, which is completely transferred to Earth or the site of impact. The formula for the calculation is
The mass of an asteroid is often not known, but has to be estimated. This is difficult because asteroids are usually not spherical. The estimation is done here using the average diameter, the formula for the estimated volume is
Also the density can often only be estimated, here an average density is preset. However, the density of asteroids has a large spread. A typical speed of asteroids on impact is about 50000 to 100000 km/h, also with large spread.
Please enter the average diameter or the mass and the speed. The energy is calculated in (kilo-, mega-, giga,-, ...)joules and as TNT equivalent.
Example: Asteroid 2043 DW, which will approach Earth in February 2046, has an average diameter of 50 meters. Its estimated mass is 163.6 kilotons (kt). That, at given velocity, would release 15.78 petajoules (PJ, 1015J) in a collision, which is equivalent to 3.77 megatons (Mt) of TNT.
Asteroids hit Earth all the time, but most are tiny. The larger they get, the rarer such impact events occur. Meteorites are small asteroids that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and ionize it with their high speed. In doing so, they leave behind a luminous trail, the meteor. These are often referred to as shooting stars. The meteorite that causes a typical shooting star is a few millimeters in size, burns up in the upper layers of the atmosphere, and then trickles down as dust. The enormous speed makes asteroids so dangerous if a large piece does completely penetrate the atmosphere and hits the ground.
Last updated on 07/01/2025. Author: Jürgen Kummer
Calculators for Planets and Astronomy
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