Metior's

[Chipchopper]

Are some areas of earth more prone to meteorites ?

[factor-fiction]

I assume the earth is so small in comparison with the universe that all areas are equally likely

[Peter Pedant]

you conclude F30 you conclude

Interesting question
Do they come from one direction ? or equally all directions ?
actually I think they may be directional

and twizzle an apple

If the meteor comes parallel to the stalk, then only the top half (northern Hemishere) will eva get hit
whereas if the meteor comes in at ft angles to the equator it will be spread over the whole globe

the implies top and bottow will get more.

Is there a meteorologist in the house and what is the proper answer ?

[bookbinder]

A meteorologist does not study meteors, Peter.

[factor-fiction]

I think the universe is so big and contains so many potential meteorites they can come from any direction with equal probablity. I can't see any reason why any one point should be more prone than others

[Mojo-Jo-Jo]

There is no up, no down, no more favoured side and no one direction that they arrive from.
Astronomer Mojo, not meteorologist Mojo :)

[mibn2cweus]

Peter Pedant
you conclude F30 you conclude

Interesting question
Do they come from one direction ? or equally all directions ?
actually I think they may be directional

and twizzle an apple

If the meteor comes parallel to the stalk, then only the top half (northern Hemishere) will eva get hit
whereas if the meteor comes in at ft angles to the equator it will be spread over the whole globe

the implies top and bottow will get more.

Is there a meteorologist in the house and what is the proper answer ?

20:34 Fri 15th Feb 2013

Earth also has two (at least) other hemispheres . . . east and west.

[bibblebub]

here's a map of where every known meteorite has fallen

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2013/feb/15/meteorite-fall-map

[mibn2cweus]

I doubt that it is merely coincidental that most known meteorites happen to be recorded on land and in more populated areas.

[bibblebub]

there's unlikely to be too many impact craters remaining in the more populated areas

[factor-fiction]

Yes, mibn2cweus- I wonder whether meteorites that land in mid-ocean always get recorded

[wildwood]

^^ Or as in South America, large areas are unchartered and any evidence is quickly overgrown.

[Mojo-Jo-Jo]

The crater for the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was only discovered in the 1970s because it is underwater. There's an awful lot of water on the planet after all.

[Jonathan-Joe]

Because of uneven population distribution little can be deduced from observations of meteorites reaching Earth. Counting craters is not much use because they are eroded fairly quickly and most will be on the sea bed anyway.
However, on the Moon there is no effective erosion and no water oceans. We see meteorite craters over all areas from equator to poles. There is no reason to suppose that earth suffers impacts in a different pattern.
(The two hemispheres of the Moon differ in crater density but this is probably because lava flows have obliterated more on the far side.)

[Peter Pedant]

the moon as an adequate model for earth

I am sure there are differences between the two, you know

[pdq1]

If you were only travelling anti clockwise round the M25 I'm sure you would find more debris on that side of the motorway. Whats that got to do with it? Well most planets and debris travel in the same direction around the sun and some parts of the Earth would not be in the firing line. Thats my view of it anyway.

[sandyRoe]

Look at the surface of the Moon, it's peppered with craters. Probably the same with the Earth but weathering and the seas hide most of the evidence.

[Teddio]

The Solar System was formed from a cloud of dust and gas with angular momentum. Consequently the vast majority of the material is rotating anticlockwise and orbiting the Sun anticlockwise (with respect to the Sun's north pole)
Additionally, most of the material is +/- 10 degrees from the ecliptic plane. There should therefore be a higher probability of material striking the Earth between about 35 degrees north and 35 degrees south.
Of course cometary debris is not confined to the ecliptic plane.

[mibn2cweus]

This article appears to support a tropical preference for meteors orginating from the asteriod belt - http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1964Metic...2..271H

[wildwood]

^^ mibs, could this be due to the fact that from any angle, more of the tropics is exposed than the polar regions. The further away from the equator you go, the smaller(less likely) the target becomes.

[mibn2cweus]

Based on the mean alignment of the Earth's tropical regions with the asteroid belt, that's pretty much what I gathered that article is suggesting, Wildwood.