# Imperial Star Destroyer as a meteorite **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imperial-star-destroyer-as-a-meteorite/964343 "2022-05-12T22:05:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 7
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2022, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imperial-star-destroyer-as-a-meteorite/964343/7 "2022-05-12T23:46:29Z")
From this website, > **[Star Destroyer Mass and Density Guesstimate](http://weblog.st-v-sw.net/2010/01/star-destroyer-mass-and-density.html)** > > While working on an old unfinished page I'd forgotten about, I realized that I really needed a decent estimate of Star Destroyer mass.   Des... > I’d guess a density of 750 kg/m³ and an ISD mass of 40,000,000 tonnes As far as the physics goes, I don’t know how to proceed any further than this, and that’s ignoring air resistance: [![](https://i.imgur.com/7LgCLyl.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/7LgCLyl.jpg) ETA: I did find an online impact effects calculator. Here is a link where I plugged in some numbers, but I really don’t know how it works. [https://impact.ese.ic.ac.uk/ImpactEarth/cgi-bin/crater.cgi?dist=480&distanceUnits=1&diam=1&diameterUnits=2&pdens=750&pdens\_select=0&vel=2.8288&velocityUnits=1&theta=90&wdepth=&wdepthUnits=1&tdens=2750](https://impact.ese.ic.ac.uk/ImpactEarth/cgi-bin/crater.cgi?dist=480&distanceUnits=1&diam=1&diameterUnits=2&pdens=750&pdens_select=0&vel=2.8288&velocityUnits=1&theta=90&wdepth=&wdepthUnits=1&tdens=2750) > The projectile begins to breakup at an altitude of **56800 meters = 186000 ft** > > The projectile reaches the ground in a broken condition. The mass of projectile strikes the surface at velocity **2.77 km/s = 1.72 miles/s** > > The energy lost in the atmosphere is **6.48 x 1016 Joules = 1.55 x 10^1 MegaTons**. > > The impact energy is **1.51 x 1018 Joules = 3.60 x 10^2 MegaTons**. > > The larger of these two energies is used to estimate the airblast damage. > > The broken projectile fragments strike the ground in an ellipse of dimension **1.28 km by 1.28 km** > > [Transient Crater](https://impact.ese.ic.ac.uk/ImpactEarth/ImpactEffects/craterglos.html#transient) Diameter: **3.26 km ( = 2.03 miles )** > > Transient Crater Depth: **1.15 km ( = 0.716 miles )** > > [Final Crater](https://impact.ese.ic.ac.uk/ImpactEarth/ImpactEffects/craterglos.html#final) Diameter: **3.83 km ( = 2.38 miles )** > > Final Crater Depth: **443 meters ( = 1450 feet )** > > The crater formed is a [complex crater](https://impact.ese.ic.ac.uk/ImpactEarth/ImpactEffects/craterglos.html#complex). > > At this impact velocity ( \< 12 km/s), little shock melting of the target occurs. > > At this impact velocity ( \< 15 km/s), little vaporization occurs; no fireball is created, therefore, there is no thermal radiation damage. > > The major seismic shaking will arrive approximately **1.6 minutes** after impact. > > Richter Scale Magnitude: **6.3** > > Mercalli Scale Intensity at a distance of 480 km: > > I. Not felt except by a very few under especially favorable conditions. > > II. Felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on upper floors of buildings. > > The ejecta will arrive approximately **5.45 minutes** after the impact. > > At your position there is a fine dusting of ejecta with occasional larger fragments > > Average Ejecta Thickness: **9.14 microns ( = 0.36 thousandths of an inch )** > > Mean Fragment Diameter: **367 microns ( = 14.5 thousandths of an inch )** > > The air blast will arrive approximately **24.2 minutes** after impact. > > Peak Overpressure: **846 Pa = 0.00846 bars = 0.12 psi** > > Max wind velocity: **1.99 m/s = 4.45 mph** > > Sound Intensity: **59 dB** **(Loud as heavy traffic)** > > Damage Description: > > Glass windows may shatter. ~Max --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imperial-star-destroyer-as-a-meteorite/964343)._