# How to calculate the Impact of a meteor

I am trying to add a dose of realism to a story I'm writing: imagine an invulnerable superman-like being that won't disintegrate at any point, weighing in at 349lbs, travelling at 86,000mph through the atmosphere and striking a rocky plain at that speed. How much energy would this release? Would this be comparable to a nuclear strike?

I tried to do my homework by using this tool (http://www.purdue.edu/impactearth/), but it doesn't allow me to put in the desired impact speed, assumes a meteor that small would break apart and so forth. Any help would be appreciated.

Well, if he doesn't slow down, then he'll hit the Earth at 86,000 mph. So,
$$KE = \frac {mv^2}{2}$$ $$KE = \frac {158.3 kg\times (38445 m/s)^2}{2}$$ $$KE = 1.17\times 10^{11} J$$ I have no idea how to calculate the size of the carter it creates.

Using the density of the crust of $2700 kg/m^3$, then about $2.17\times 10^7 m^3$ of dirt gets moved.
Lets start with a circle with a diameter of $500 m$, this give an area of $1.96\times 10^5 m^2$, and a depth of about $110 m$.
A $400 m$ circle will have a depth of about $172 m$.