How far does a meteor fall?
Andy readers are the young members of the Space Age, and he does not have to remind them that a falling star is not a falling star. It may be brighter than a real star and its moment of glory more dazzling. But it is no more than a small and solid space-traveling member of the solar system. The fall of a stone is caused by the pull of the Earth’s gravity. When the mechanics of an airplane fail, it crashes because this force of gravity hugs it down to the surface of the planet. The Earth’s gravity tugs day and night with the same strength. It causes a falling body to drop at a set rate, though a long tumble through the air slows up the falling speed. The set rate of a fall to the Earth begins at 32 feet a second. Every second the falling speed increases at the rate of 32 feet a second. Our planet’s gravity reaches out in all directions into the limitless reaches of space, getting weaker as it goes. At 230,000 miles it is still strong enough to keep our captive moon in orbit. But million
