I was thinking, is the reason we don't find interstellar meteorites on earth, due to their speed of entry, or they just don't hit us?
Do interstellar objects always explode on hitting the atmosphere leaving no trace?
The total energy of impact with the atmosphere and ground is proportional to the velocity squared.
However, the rate of energy transfer (power) from ram-air pressure in the atmosphere is proportional to the cube of the velocity.
If local meteors come in at 20 km/s to 70 km/s, but interstellar stuff can come in at 550 km/s (sun vel through space), then they could be heated a thousand times hotter by ran-air effects.
Is this hot enough to generate soft x-rays that will penetrate the meteor causing it to explode at altitude![]()