Slide a meteoroid's diameter, entry speed, and entry angle, then press Send it in to watch the 3D Fireball / Atmospheric Entry 3D Explorer estimate where it starts to glow and whether the result is a spent airburst or a fragmenting descent - calibrated against the real 2013 Chelyabinsk event.
The model places the ablation-onset altitude inside the real 75-100 km band using entry speed alone, then sorts the outcome into one of three bands: ablates high up with no fireball, a Chelyabinsk-class airburst, or a larger fragmenting descent. This page is a parametric what-if tool for any size, speed, and angle you choose - not a fixed replay of one historical case.
Fireball / Atmospheric Entry 3D Explorer
Slide a meteoroid's diameter, entry speed, and entry angle, then press Send it in on the Fireball / Atmospheric Entry 3D Explorer to see where the model places its ablation onset and whether the outcome lands as a spent airburst or a fragmenting descent.
Drag to orbit the entry corridor, scroll or pinch to zoom, and watch the meteor streak down through the band that marks the modeled ablation altitude. The facts panel updates the mass, the outcome band, and the exact altitude figure on every slider change.
This page is a parametric what-if tool: pick any diameter from 1 m to 1,000 m, any entry speed from 11.2 to 72 km/s, and any entry angle from 10 to 90 degrees, then watch the model sort the result into an outcome band. For the real 15 February 2013 Chelyabinsk event played out on its own timeline, open the Chelyabinsk Meteor 3D Explorer. For a fixed side-by-side of three specific real cases on one shared altitude scale, open the Meteor Airburst Size Comparison 3D Explorer instead - this page is the only one of the three where you set the numbers yourself.
- Diameter slider from 1 m to 1,000 m on a log scale, so both small and large bodies are easy to dial in
- Entry speed slider from 11.2 to 72 km/s, the full published range for meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere
- Entry angle slider from 10 to 90 degrees, shallow grazing paths through a near-vertical drop
- Send it in button plays the descent and lights up a flash at the modeled outcome altitude
- Preset: Chelyabinsk 2013 button loads the real reference event's diameter, speed, and angle in one click
- Facts panel with the live mass estimate, outcome band, and ablation-altitude figure
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
Students use the sliders to see why a 5 m body ablates harmlessly high up while an 18 m body reaches Chelyabinsk-class airburst territory, and why a much larger body can survive long enough to keep descending as fragments. Curious readers just want to drag the diameter slider up and watch the outcome band flip.
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Meteoroid entry speed range | 11.2-72 km/s | American Meteor Society |
| Fireball definition | brighter than magnitude -4 | American Meteor Society |
| Typical ablation onset altitude band | about 75-100 km | American Meteor Society / NASA CNEOS synthesis |
| Chelyabinsk reference event (15 Feb 2013) | ~18 m, ~11,000 t, 18.6 km/s, ~18 deg, airburst ~23.3 km, ~440 kt | NASA CNEOS |
Everything renders on your device with WebGL. The 3D engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached; no scene data is sent to a server.
The scene is an educational approximation of atmospheric entry, not a strength-based fragmentation or thermal-ablation model. The ablation-onset altitude is placed inside the real 75-100 km band from entry speed alone, and the three outcome bands are illustrative - a real body's fate also depends on its material strength and internal structure, which this page does not model.
For a step-by-step walkthrough, read the Fireball / Atmospheric Entry 3D Explorer step-by-step guide. The Space 3D collection also includes the DART Asteroid Deflection 3D Explorer for a real deflection mission and the Torino Impact Hazard Scale 3D Explorer for how a still-approaching object gets rated before any entry happens.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Fireball / Atmospheric Entry 3D Explorer show?
A meteoroid entering the atmosphere at a diameter, speed, and angle you choose, with the model estimating its ablation-onset altitude and sorting the outcome into one of three bands: ablates high up with no fireball, a Chelyabinsk-class airburst, or a larger fragmenting descent.
How is the ablation altitude calculated?
The model places the onset altitude inside the real published 75-100 km band using entry speed alone - faster meteoroids are placed higher in the band. It does not model material strength or internal structure, so the placement is an approximation, not a strength-based physical calculation.
What sets the diameter, speed, and angle ranges?
Speed runs 11.2 to 72 km/s, the full published range for meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere (American Meteor Society). Angle runs 10 to 90 degrees, from a shallow grazing path to a near-vertical drop. Diameter runs 1 m to 1,000 m on a log scale so both small and large bodies are easy to dial in.
What does the Preset: Chelyabinsk 2013 button load?
The real published figures for the 15 February 2013 Chelyabinsk event: about 18 m diameter, 18.6 km/s entry speed, and an 18-degree entry angle (NASA CNEOS) - so you can see how that specific real case compares to whatever you set the sliders to next.
How is this different from Chelyabinsk Meteor 3D Explorer?
Chelyabinsk Meteor 3D Explorer replays the single real 2013 event on its own actual timeline with no sliders. This page is a parametric sandbox - you set the diameter, speed, and angle yourself for any meteoroid, not just that one case.
How is this different from Meteor Airburst Size Comparison 3D Explorer?
Meteor Airburst Size Comparison 3D Explorer is a fixed side-by-side of three specific real cases - Tunguska, Chelyabinsk, and a typical small bolide - on one shared altitude scale. This page has no fixed cases; you choose the numbers.