<p>When a rock is in space, it may be quite cold.  A rock that is in space in the vicinity of the Earth and heated (on one side) by the sun would reach an equilibrium of about 10° C (depending on how dark it is).  If that rock spends much time in the shadow of the Earth, it will cool down, and can easily be below zero when it reaches the atmosphere.</p>
<p>Then it falls, as it goes through the atmosphere, the  air in front of it is compressed and heats up.  The outer layers of the rock can begin to ablate, and the whole rock can shatter into multiple pieces. The temperatures might be very high, but this stage is over in seconds.  There isn't enough time for the interior of the rock to heat up by much. The inside of the rock is still at about 10° C.  This is the &quot;baked Alaska&quot; effect.  If you cook quickly at a high temperature, the inside stays cold.</p>
<p>The next stage of the fall is through the lower parts of the atmosphere.  The air is cold, and tends to cool the rock further.  This &quot;dark&quot; part of the fall lasts much longer than the bright meteor.  Small stones can be chilled to sub-zero during the fall.</p>
<p>It is, therefore not surprising that the stone would be cold when it lands.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-21T03:21:10.810Z
10 degrees in which units?
Steve Bennett
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-21T03:23:30.393Z
@SteveBennett I am also curious, although I don’t know of any units where 10° would cause a bed to catch fire.
Todd Wilcox
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-21T06:25:10.533Z
Celcius.  Isn't that what is generally used in BC?
James K
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-21T20:20:53.363Z
Related and currently unanswered in Earth Science SE: [Have "frosty meteorites" ever been observed soon after landing? Are there photos?](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/q/21197/6031)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-22T12:44:35.600Z
Randall Munroe provides a [great explanation](https://what-if.xkcd.com/28/) of temperature gradients during re-entry. Though he applies it, naturally, to a raw steak rather than a chunk of rock.
Sebastian Lenartowicz
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-20T17:46:16.313Z
2022-03-22T05:09:49.927Z
2022-03-22T05:09:49.927Z
James K
<p>A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/14/world/canada/meteorite-bed.html" rel="noreferrer">meteorite went through a roof</a> and landed on a bed in Golden B. C., Canada in October of 2021.</p>
<p>I thought meteorites would be very hot. Why didn’t the bed catch fire?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-21T20:28:05.577Z
you might find this interesting in Earth Science SE: [Have "frosty meteorites" ever been observed soon after landing? Are there photos?](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/q/21197/6031)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-21T20:43:40.467Z
You also might be interested in how difficult it is to cook a steak by [dropping it from orbit](https://what-if.xkcd.com/28/#:~:text=Putting%20it%20all%20together%2C%20I,as%20the%20air%20gets%20thicker.)
candied_orange
<meteorite>
Hot meteorite lands on bed
Doug K
# Hot meteorite lands on bed

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-03-20)

A [meteorite went through a roof](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/14/world/canada/meteorite-bed.html) and landed on a bed in Golden B. C., Canada in October of 2021.

I thought meteorites would be very hot. Why didn’t the bed catch fire?

**Tags:** meteorite

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: you might find this interesting in Earth Science SE: [Have "frosty meteorites" ever been observed soon after landing? Are there photos?](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/q/21197/6031)  
> **username_2**: You also might be interested in how difficult it is to cook a steak by [dropping it from orbit](https://what-if.xkcd.com/28/#:~:text=Putting%20it%20all%20together%2C%20I,as%20the%20air%20gets%20thicker.)  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2022-03-20. Score: 29

When a rock is in space, it may be quite cold. A rock that is in space in the vicinity of the Earth and heated (on one side) by the sun would reach an equilibrium of about 10° C (depending on how dark it is). If that rock spends much time in the shadow of the Earth, it will cool down, and can easily be below zero when it reaches the atmosphere.

Then it falls, as it goes through the atmosphere, the air in front of it is compressed and heats up. The outer layers of the rock can begin to ablate, and the whole rock can shatter into multiple pieces. The temperatures might be very high, but this stage is over in seconds. There isn't enough time for the interior of the rock to heat up by much. The inside of the rock is still at about 10° C. This is the "baked Alaska" effect. If you cook quickly at a high temperature, the inside stays cold.

The next stage of the fall is through the lower parts of the atmosphere. The air is cold, and tends to cool the rock further. This "dark" part of the fall lasts much longer than the bright meteor. Small stones can be chilled to sub-zero during the fall.

It is, therefore not surprising that the stone would be cold when it lands.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: 10 degrees in which units?  
> **username_5**: @SteveBennett I am also curious, although I don’t know of any units where 10° would cause a bed to catch fire.  
> **username_3**: Celcius.  Isn't that what is generally used in BC?  
> **username_1**: Related and currently unanswered in Earth Science SE: [Have "frosty meteorites" ever been observed soon after landing? Are there photos?](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/q/21197/6031)  
> **username_6**: Randall Munroe provides a [great explanation](https://what-if.xkcd.com/28/) of temperature gradients during re-entry. Though he applies it, naturally, to a raw steak rather than a chunk of rock.  

---

