[tet68]

The only recorded fatality from a meteor was an Egyptian dog that had the bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in 1911.

Seven decades later, scientists recognised the dog had been struck by a meteorite from Mars.


MARS ATTACKS!

[anymouse]

Chicken Little alert. Apparently the sky IS falling.

[BenLurkin]

Space Junk?

[Servant of the 9]

Ordinarily when a meterorite hits a house, no one is hurt, occasionally one person is.
They sure know how to pack them tighter in India.

So9

[Jeff Chandler]

At least 20 people are reported to have been injured after a meteorite crashed to Earth in eastern India... Burning fragments were said to have fallen over a wide area, destroying several houses.

I hate it when that happens.

[Jeff Chandler]

At least 20 people are reported to have been injured after a meteorite crashed to Earth in eastern India... Burning fragments were said to have fallen over a wide area, destroying several houses.

I hate it when that happens.

[Humidston]

Relatives want to know whom to sue!

[hadaclueonce]

Proof that God does not like India..he thought the earthquakes and floods would have made his point...but NO...

[Orion78]

There was a woman in Alabama that got hit by a meteorite in 1954. I saw a picture of it one time but I can't seem to find it on the web at the moment. I'll see if I can dig it up.

http://www.meteoritearticles.com/znpsylacauga.html

[Orion78]

Found It.

[mtbopfuyn]

Cool! Wish someone would ship me a hunk of meteorite for the kids' rock collection. Supposedly one can find meteor dust at the bottom of roof drain spouts. Scoop some debris onto a piece of white paper and pick out the leaves and sticks. Run a magnet across the back of the paper to hold anything metallic (space dust) and discard the rest.

Too bad about the injuries though.

[Davea]

FORE!!!

Saturday, October 3, 1998

Section: NEWS

GOLFER IS REWARDED FOR HIS CLOSE BRUSH WITH METEORITE

Reuters News Service

TORONTO

A Canadian golfer was rewarded this week for having a close encounter with a meteorite - so close, it whizzed by his ear.

Orville Delong, 57, a maintenance worker from Cambridge, Ontario, said in an interview Friday he was golfing on July 12 when he heard the "eerie sound" of a meteorite the size of a baseball as it shot by his left ear.

The meteorite was estimated to be moving at about 12.4 miles per second.

"At first we thought somebody was shooting at us," he said.

The University of Toronto, which wanted to study the meteorite, rewarded Delong with a free season's golf pass at a golf club in Kitchener, Ontario.

The meteorite probably originated in an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, said University of Toronto geology professor John Rucklidge.

Delong is no stranger to near-disaster on the links. In 1977 lightning struck him on a golf course as he ran for cover under a tree. "I'm having trouble getting partners to play with," he joked.

[UnklGene]

This meteorite story wouldn't have been half the fun without the Stolar-"sturm" and J. Smith "drang."

[Sub-Driver]

hate it when that happens...

[aruanan]

with boulder-sized objects or bigger being a historical rarity.

This part's not true. Objects weighing hundreds and thousands of pounds burn up in the atmosphere many times each year.

[TigersEye]

An official in Orissa said the authorities were assessing the damage and trying to recover what was left of the meteor.

Of course they were. Collectors pay big bucks for meteorites and newly fallen ones fetch the most. Think the injured parties will get in on it?

[IndianChief]

The BBC has a new report just in, with an amazing pic

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3149404.stm

Officials investigating a meteorite that crashed in eastern India say it was part of the most spectacular meteor shower in the country's recent history.

Witnesses say the meteor lit up the night sky "like daylight" Flaming debris from the space rock lit up the sky in Orissa state on Saturday night, and sent villagers running after its burning fragments set fire to their houses.

"I have never seen a meteor covering such a large area with a huge fireball and roaring sound," said Basant Kumar Mohanty, senior director of the Geological Survey of India.

According to state authorities, two large fragments of the meteorite, weighing roughly five kilograms each, have been recovered.

Shock

Meanwhile, locals in Orissa have been describing what they saw.

"I first mistook it for... a crashing aircraft, when I saw the huge fireball with so much bright light," said Bandita Das, a housewife.

"For about 10 seconds, the evening on Saturday got lighted up. I panicked and took my kids inside the house."

Bishwa Bhushan Harichandan, a minister in Orissa's state government, told the BBC the fireball was seen by people in "seven to eight districts, covering about 14,000 to 15,000 square kilometres".

He said only three people had been injured as a result of the meteorite falling to earth. Earlier reports said at least 20 people had been hurt.

An old man receiving treatment in hospital is also reported to have died of shock on seeing the meteor.

The people of Orissa are familiar with cyclones and floods, and according to correspondents, they feel Saturday's meteor shower has added a new threat to their lives.

Scientists say, however, the risk of being killed by a falling meteorite is not worth worrying about.