When a meteoroid enters the atmosphere very quickly, which emission source tends to dominate the visual output?
Answer
Light emitted from the vaporized space dust.
The speed of entry dictates the intensity of energy transfer. When a meteoroid approaches Earth at extremely high velocities, often on a head-on trajectory, the resulting energy deposition is intense. This massive energy input causes the material of the space dust itself to vaporize and ionize rapidly, making the spectral signature of the meteoroid's constituents—such as iron or magnesium—the dominant source of the visible light observed. In contrast, slower objects allow the atmospheric reactions, which typically produce a red hue, to become more noticeable.
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