Days after a large fireball exploded over Texas with a stunning caboom, a small piece of flaming space rock was recovered.
dark and smooth meteorite found Among the sand and shrub, the American Meteor Society said in a Feb. 18 Facebook post, sharing a photo of the debris.
a A fireball weighing 1,000 pounds According to NASA, it shattered at 21 miles above Earth on February 15, scattering small fragments (meteorites) overhead. It was moving at 27,000 miles per hour with an energy of 8 tons of TNT.
Around the same time, the city of McAllen and many other communities in southern Texas reported hearings. A boom that shakes the earthseveral local police stations were flooded with hundreds of calls, McClatchy previously reported.
Some caught a glimpse of a meteor west of McAllen, which was bright enough to be seen even in the daytime.
“Meteorites tend to hit the Earth’s atmosphere at high velocities, but as they travel through the atmosphere they slow down and break up into smaller pieces before hitting the ground,” NASA said.
The American Meteor Society says they were able to locate the meteorite using reported fireball sightings and weather radar data.
The group said it was the third meteor fragment discovered so far, adding that the first two were in Italy and France.
meteorite in italy landed on someone’s balconyreported by the Guardian.
NASA does not maintain a collection of meteorites, but asked anyone who finds such an object to contact the Smithsonian.
“The meteors seen above McAllen are helping NASA and other organizations advance our understanding and protection of our planet, combine our expertise in science and engineering to advance human space exploration, and integrate Earth and planetary research into our mission. It is a reminder that we need to advance our research: understanding our solar system and mitigating risks to advance the success of space missions,” the organization said in a release.
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