Because meteorites travel faster than the speed of sound, we cannot hear them until they are relatively close.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Meteorites travel through space and enter the Earth's atmosphere at speeds much faster than the speed of sound. As they decelerate in the atmosphere, they can create sonic booms that are audible to humans, but these sounds can only be heard after the meteorite has passed by, due to the delay caused by the speed of sound being slower than the meteorite's speed.

Because Meteorites Travel Faster Than the Speed of Sound, We