Meteorite impact
A meteoroid is a natural object made of rock or metal which has an elliptical orbit around the sun. The mass of a meteoroid can vary considerably: from a few milligrams to several thousand tonnes.
When a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere, it disintegrates under the effect of friction. It then becomes a meteor, or shooting star. You can see them in the sky. Most meteors disintegrate or evaporate in the atmosphere before reaching the Earth.
A meteorite is what remains of the meteor when it survives the atmosphere and reaches the ground. A meteorite can form craters, depending on its size and weight. Learn more about the difference between meteoroid, meteor and meteorite.
Risks and causes
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What can you do?
BEFORE
- Would you like to help scientists detect meteors over Belgium? Specialists can observe meteors using a network of cameras or radio techniques. Thanks to the online citizen science project "Radio Meteor Zoo", you can help identify meteors by drawing rectangles around the radio detection of meteors. This helps to analyse complex observations, in particular during meteor showers.
- Have you seen a bright meteor yourself? Submit your sighting via "Report a meteorite".
DURING / AFTER
- There are no specific recommendations for this risk.
- Check out our general advice to follow before, during, and after an emergency.
Impact and probability
The figures relating to probability and impact describe a considerable meteorite impact. The BNRA theoretically describes such a scenario as follows:
- A meteorite crashes in an urban area of less than 5 km2.
- The meteorite releases an energy of less than 1011 joules. This corresponds to an explosion of up to 23.4 tonnes of TNT.
How should you interpret these results?
Within the BNRA, experts assessed three scenarios for each risk: considerable, major or extreme. On each page, you will find the results of the scenario with the highest score based on the combination of likelihood and impact. This does not mean that this scenario will occur or is the most likely. Read more here about how to correctly interpret the results.
Probability
Improbable
Human impact
Moderate
Societal impact
Moderate
Environmental impact
Very weak
Financial impact
Strong
What do the authorities do?
The Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB) manages the BRAMS (Belgian Radio Meteor Stations) network. This network is made up of several measuring stations spread throughout Belgium. These measuring stations use radio signals to detect and study meteors (and therefore also meteorites). This allows scientists to better understand how often meteors fly by, their speed and the paths they follow through the atmosphere. This information helps not only to learn more about meteors themselves, but also to better understand how these celestial objects influence our planet.
Other Belgian researchers analyse the rare meteorites found in our country, in order to reconstruct their provenance and their journey through the solar system, which sometimes lasts millions of years.
The Royal Observatory of Belgium studies asteroids and asteroid impacts, and takes part in planetary defence missions led by the European Space Agency (ESA).
In the event of a large-scale meteorite impact, municipalities, provinces or the National Crisis Center apply their general emergency and intervention plans.