NASA confirms half-ton meteor crashed in South Texas

[Astronuc]

https://www.foxnews.com/science/nasa-confirms-half-ton-meteor-crashed-into-texas

According to the National Weather Service in Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley, multiple people reported a possible meteor in the sky west of McAllen. The weather agency also reported that the flash from the meteor was captured by a Geostationary Lightning Mapper right before 5:30 p.m.

The lightning mapper satellite measures lightning from space, and in a Facebook post on Wednesday, the NWS said there was no thunderstorm activity in the area when the meteor crashed.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra posted to Twitter that he was informed by air traffic controllers in Houston that two aircraft reported that they also saw a meteor in the sky near McAllen.

 

[AlexB23]

That is fascinating stuff. What was the initial velocity of the meteor, and initial mass? Most meteors would have to be bigger than 50-100 or so meters to collide with Earth, or else an airburst would occur.

 

[Tom.G]

From: https://www.fox4news.com/news/nasa-confirms-1000-pound-meteor-hit-the-ground-in-texas

McALLEN, Texas - NASA confirmed a meteor that was about 2 feet wide and weighed roughly 1,000 pounds fell in South Texas.


Experts believe the space rock broke into several pieces before hitting the ground around 6 p.m. Wednesday near McAllen, Texas.

(above, and many more, found with:
https://www.google.com/search?q=how+big+is+a+1000+pound+meteor)

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Astronuc]

Days after a large fireball exploded with a startling kaboom over Texas, a small piece of the flaming space rock has been recovered.

The dark, smooth meteorite was found amid sand and scrub, the American Meteor Society said in a Feb. 18 Facebook post, sharing a photo of the fragment.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/1-000-pound-fireball-explodes-210559723.html

The American Meteor Society mentioned three meteorites recovered in three different locations: "Three different meteorites in three days -- Feb 13th France, 14th Italy, 15th Texas."

According to a statement attributed to NASA, the meteor over Texas "broke apart 21 miles above the Earth on Feb. 15, scattering smaller pieces — meteorites — overhead. It was moving at 27,000 mph with the energy of 8 tons of TNT."

https://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/meteorite-falls/events/mcallen-tx-15-feb-2023-2322-utc (service may be unavailable)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/meteor-mcallen-texas-identified-meteorite-nasa/

 

[DennisN]

Where's @davenn ?
Oh, he can't be reached, he has packed his bags and is on his way to the airport...
He might tell us later how many bags are needed to carry 1000 pounds of samples.

 

[Vanadium 50]

I'm amused by the title. "Sure enough, it crashed. No soft landing here - no sirree. Just like you;d expect from a big rock in the sky."

 

[ohwilleke]

Coincidentally, the impact was not terribly far from the one that killed the dinosaurs, just missed the Gulf of Mexico near the U.S.-Mexico border.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Alleged! Never convicted!

 

[davenn]

Most meteors would have to be bigger than 50-100 or so meters to collide with Earth, or else an airburst would occur.

no, not true
Substantially smaller meteoroids/asteroids than that will still have material that will reach the ground

Coincidentally, the impact was not terribly far from the one that killed the dinosaurs,

Just a mere 1000km ( ~600 miles)

He might tell us later how many bags are needed to carry 1000 pounds of samples

the excess baggage fees for the return trip are gonna be brutal hahaha

 

[davenn]

Alleged! Never convicted!

uh huh, probable accomplaces to that crime scene

 

[AlexB23]

no, not true
Substantially smaller meteoroids/asteroids than that will still have material that will reach the groundJust a mere 1000km ( ~600 miles)
the excess baggage fees for the return trip are gonna be brutal hahaha

Hey, thanks for the reply. :) I didn't know smaller meteors could enter our atmosphere and collide with our planet.

 

[Astronuc]

Hey, thanks for the reply. :) I didn't know smaller meteors could enter our atmosphere and collide with our planet.

I was watching a video of meteors, meteoroids and meteorites, and the number was in the thousands (mostly small) per year entering the earths atmosphere. It's the large ones that get our attention. I don't remember where I saw the video, but the article below has a nice summary.

One may never have actually seen a meteorite, but they keep falling to earth. According to a study by researchers at the University of Manchester and Imperial College published in Geology, there are about 17,000 of them per year. One reason for their apparent invisibility is their size, which shrinks after passing through the Earth's atmosphere to the point at which they are virtually imperceptible.

https://www.iberdrola.com/innovation/meteorites-earth

Most meteorites reach the Earth's surface in the form of dust or very small particles after passing through the atmosphere, which is why we do not normally see them. However, believe it or not, some 17,000 meteorites fall to Earth every year. The data comes from a team of researchers at the University of Manchester and Imperial College London, who have managed to quantify the flow of space material falling onto the planet between 2019 and 2020. According to Professor Geoffrey Evatt, who led the research, the fragments counted weighed between 50 grammes and 10 kilos (the latter is very rare).

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/meteors-and-meteorites/overview/

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/meteors-and-meteorites/in-depth/

 

[davenn]

Hey, thanks for the reply. :) I didn't know smaller meteors could enter our atmosphere and collide with our planet.

no prob's
Just an example one of my complete meteorites ....

5.25kg .. estimated at around 4 times that size when it hit the atmosphere

You can see that it is a complete stone, rather than a larger one that has fragmented.
One that has fragmented would most likely have sharp edges and would show a secondary
as on this 1.5kg sample I have ......

The primary crust can easily be seen in the first 2 images. But the 3rd image shows the distinct
lighter secondary crust that hasnt been cooked as much during its flight through the atmosphere.
Mainly because the stone fractured and broke up along that surface after entry.cheers
Dave

 

[davenn]

Hey, thanks for the reply. :)

Ohh and further to that second meteorite in my previous post, another image of a different
side with a really cool feature.
Roll-over lipping where molten rock has flowed around from the leading side/edge onto one of
the other sides.
Along the top edge and down that right side

 

[ohwilleke]

Just a mere 1000km ( ~600 miles)

5% of the maximum possible distance.

 

[AlexB23]

no prob's
Just an example one of my complete meteorites ....

5.25kg .. estimated at around 4 times that size when it hit the atmosphere

View attachment 322744

View attachment 322745

You can see that it is a complete stone, rather than a larger one that has fragmented.
One that has fragmented would most likely have sharp edges and would show a secondary
as on this 1.5kg sample I have ......

View attachment 322747

View attachment 322748

View attachment 322749

The primary crust can easily be seen in the first 2 images. But the 3rd image shows the distinct
lighter secondary crust that hasnt been cooked as much during its flight through the atmosphere.
Mainly because the stone fractured and broke up along that surface after entry.cheers
Dave

I want to have a meteorite one of these days. :) Have never touched anything from space before. Outer space humbles me, as it is so vast, and created 13.8B years ago. Some of these meteors may contain trace elements of rare earth metals. Have you run them under a spectrometer?

 

[berkeman]

Some of these meteors may contain trace elements of rare earth metals.

That's kind of an ironic statement, don't you think?

 

[AlexB23]

That's kind of an ironic statement, don't you think?

Haha... That is so true. Rare on earth, but common on asteroids. :)

 

[Vanadium 50]

Rare earths are actually not all that rare. If you aren't fussy about purity, you can get some for 1.5x the cost of iron.