How is the energy released during an impact proportional to the impacting object?

Mass and the square of its velocity.

The destructive potential of any cosmic collision is determined by a fundamental physical relationship involving the object's characteristics upon contact. Specifically, the colossal amount of energy released when an object strikes the atmosphere or the ground is mathematically proportional to the object's mass combined with the square of its velocity. This relationship explains why comets, which frequently travel much faster than asteroids originating from the inner solar system, can inflict a disproportionately larger impact for objects of similar physical size, thereby packing a larger destructive punch.