ReVelle calaculates that, on average, a Tunguska-sized object probably can be expected to enter the atmosphere every 120 years or so. A Rock's Path. What happens to a meteroid once it approaches and enters the atmosphere. Meteoroid approaches the atmosphere. Once inside the atmosphere the object, now called a meteor, is heated by friction and appears as a glowing streak of light.
Some meteors become so intensely heated that they appear as a fireball in the sky.
The streak eventually dissipates and the meteor flies through the dark before it hits the surface. Since 1960, here are the spots above the Earth where meteors were first detected entering the atmosphere. The Impact How much energy is released by various sizes of meteors entering the atmosphere. The amount of energy released from the atom bomb that was dropped on Hirsohima in 1945 was about 12.5 kilotons. High grass cover Where data from microphones was collected and analyzed.