Entry of meteoroids into the Earth's atmosphere produces three main effects: ionization of atmospheric molecules, dust that the meteoroid sheds, and the sound of passage.
During the entry of a meteoroid or asteroid into the upper atmosphere, an ionization trail is created, where the molecules in the upper atmosphere are ionized by the passage of the meteor. Such ionization trails can last up to 45 minutes at a time. Small, sand-grain sized meteoroids are entering the atmosphere constantly, essentially every few seconds in any given region of the atmosphere, and thus ionization trails can be found in the upper atmosphere more or less continuously.
When radio waves are bounced off these trails, it is called meteor burst communications. Meteor radars can measure atmospheric density and winds by measuring the decay rate and Doppler shift of a meteor trail. Most meteoroids burn up when they enter the atmosphere. The left-over debris is called meteoric dust or just meteor dust.
Meteor dust particles can persist in the atmosphere for up to several months. These particles might affect climate, both by scattering electromagnetic radiation and by catalyzing chemical reactions in the upper atmosphere. Larger meteors can enter dark flight after deceleration where the meteorite (or fragments) fall at terminal velocity. Dark flight starts when the meteorite(s) decelerate to about 2-4 km/s (4,500-8,900 mph). Larger fragments will fall further down the strewn field.Whether an object breaks apart depends on its composition, speed, and angle of entry. A faster meteor at an oblique angle suffers greater stress. Meteors made of iron withstand the stress better than those of stone. Even an iron meteor will usually break up as the atmosphere becomes more dense, around 5 to 7 miles up. A meteor sometimes explodes above the surface, causing widespread damage from the blast and ensuing fire. This happened in 1908 over over Siberia.