<p><strong>Roughly 25 Meters</strong></p>
<p>I don't know what you would consider a 'crater', because a pebble landing in mud will create a 'crater'. And very small particles can rain down as dust and make it all the way to the surface because they decelerate very quickly in the upper atmosphere.   So in that sense,  there is no limit to how small a meteor can be and make it to the ground.</p>
<p>If we assume a large enough meteor to stay mostly in one piece and make a crater big enough to do some kind of damage,  that number is on the order of 25 meters.</p>
<p>From NASA:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/asteroids/overview/fastfacts.html" rel="noreferrer">https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/asteroids/overview/fastfacts.html</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Space rocks smaller than about 25 meters (about 82 feet) will most
likely burn up as they enter the Earth's atmosphere and cause little
or no damage.</p>
<p>If a rocky meteoroid larger than 25 meters but smaller than one
kilometer ( a little more than 1/2 mile) were to hit Earth, it would
likely cause local damage to the impact area.</p>
<p>We believe anything larger than one to two kilometers (one kilometer
is a little more than one-half mile) could have worldwide effects. At
5.4 kilometers in  diameter, the largest known potentially hazardous asteroid is Toutatis.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-07T21:48:46.300Z
2023-07-07T21:48:46.300Z
Dan Hanson
<p>if an asteroid were to hit earth, how big would it have to be to make a crater and not just vaporise in the atmosphere?</p>

<asteroids><planetary-science><meteor><crater>
how big would an asteroid have to be to leave a crater on Earth
sno
# how big would an asteroid have to be to leave a crater on Earth

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-07-07)

if an asteroid were to hit earth, how big would it have to be to make a crater and not just vaporise in the atmosphere?

**Tags:** asteroids, planetary-science, meteor, crater

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2023-07-07. Score: 7

**Roughly 25 Meters**

I don't know what you would consider a 'crater', because a pebble landing in mud will create a 'crater'. And very small particles can rain down as dust and make it all the way to the surface because they decelerate very quickly in the upper atmosphere. So in that sense, there is no limit to how small a meteor can be and make it to the ground.

If we assume a large enough meteor to stay mostly in one piece and make a crater big enough to do some kind of damage, that number is on the order of 25 meters.

From NASA:

<https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/asteroids/overview/fastfacts.html>

> Space rocks smaller than about 25 meters (about 82 feet) will most
> likely burn up as they enter the Earth's atmosphere and cause little
> or no damage.
>
> If a rocky meteoroid larger than 25 meters but smaller than one
> kilometer ( a little more than 1/2 mile) were to hit Earth, it would
> likely cause local damage to the impact area.
>
> We believe anything larger than one to two kilometers (one kilometer
> is a little more than one-half mile) could have worldwide effects. At
> 5.4 kilometers in diameter, the largest known potentially hazardous asteroid is Toutatis.


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