The Sound of a Meteor Entry

The Physics of the Sonic Boom 💥

The sound of a meteor entering Earth's atmosphere is a dramatic and rare event, primarily characterized by a powerful sonic boom. This sound is not the meteor itself crashing, but rather the acoustic shockwave generated as it travels at immense speeds, faster than the speed of sound.

The Physics of the Sonic Boom 💥

When a meteorite—a chunk of space rock—hits Earth's atmosphere, it is traveling at speeds of tens of thousands of miles per hour, far exceeding the speed of sound (approximately 767 mph or 1,235 km/h at sea level). As the object pushes through the air, it compresses the air molecules in front of it, creating a cone-shaped pressure wave. This wave is a continuous shockwave that trails behind the object. When this pressure wave reaches an observer's ears on the ground, it is heard as a very loud and sharp clap or series of claps, which we call a sonic boom.

The Delayed Sound Phenomenon ⏳

A common misconception is that the sound and light from a meteor entry happen at the same time. In reality, the visual spectacle—the bright flash or fireball in the sky—occurs first. The light from the event travels at the speed of light, which is nearly instantaneous over the distances involved.

it is traveling at speeds of tens of thousands of miles per hour

However, the sound, the sonic boom, travels at the much slower speed of sound. This means that a person on the ground will see the bright flash and the glowing trail of the meteor minutes before they hear the accompanying boom. The louder the boom, the closer the meteorite was to the observer's location and the larger the object.

Why the Sound is Rare and Powerful 👂

The sound of a meteor entry is considered rare for a few reasons. First, most meteors are too small and burn up completely high in the atmosphere, creating only a fleeting flash of light without a significant sonic boom. Only larger, more robust meteoroids are capable of surviving the fiery descent and generating a shockwave strong enough to reach the ground as an audible boom. Secondly, the sound is highly directional, meaning it's only heard along the "boom carpet," the path directly beneath the meteor's trajectory. This makes it a localized phenomenon. When a large meteor does produce a powerful boom, it can be felt as a physical vibration, sometimes powerful enough to shatter windows or cause minor structural damage, as was the case with the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor event in Russia.