Comments on: Meteorite mayhem, Part I

By: Der mysteriöse Meteorit aus Peru /// Astrodicticum Simplex

Der mysteriöse Meteorit aus Peru /// Astrodicticum Simplex — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:35:25 +0000

[...] ein Meteorit mit der Erde kollidiert und hat einen kleinen Krater erzeugt. Die Zeitungen und das Internet waren damals voll mit Meldungen – vor allem deswegen, weil es bei diesem Impakt seltsame [...]

By: AltGN.com Alt. Geek. News.

AltGN.com Alt. Geek. News. — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:38:46 +0000

[...] after the impact, Phil Plait over at Bad AstronomyÂ said: …the crater size makes me suspicious; I wouldn’t expect a flaming meteorite at [...]

By: Natty Bumpo

Natty Bumpo — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:50:01 +0000

While some call it suspicious that there isn’t any meteorite material laying around……..isn’t it also suspicious thats there isn’t any wreckage eiteher? Even an armed missile will leave junk strewn all over the place…….

By: It’s the End of the World as We Know It » Blog Archive » Peruvian Meteorites and the Antichrist

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 11:05:06 +0000

[...] Via: Bad Astronomy Blog Â» Meteorite mayhem, Part I [...]

By: Pax Nortona - A Blog by Joel Sax » Meteor

Pax Nortona - A Blog by Joel Sax » Meteor — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 22:35:05 +0000

[...] why was Bad Astronomy Blog in denial about the identity of the fallen object? (see here and here. It was no [...]

By: Sylvester McMonkey McBeans

Sylvester McMonkey McBeans — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 20:52:11 +0000

It’s a toss-up for me:
I think it could be
1) Volcanic activity such as a sudden venting of gas. If pressure is allowed to accumulate and not vent off slowly, it could release suddenly giving off a roar. The stories focus more on the sickness of the locals than reports of a fireball streaking thru the sky. Or,
2) If Armageddom is near, this could be one of the first meteors from the massive cluster of meteorites from God.

By: Sorting Out Science » Blog Archive » Meteorites, the Media, and Mass Hysteria

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 18:33:19 +0000

[...] working its way slowly through the news pipeline), only the illness angle is still a mystery. First reports suggested that a few dozen locals, including the police officers, got nauseous at the site. [...]

By: JC

JC — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 22:52:30 +0000

It’s highly unlikely to be a meteoroid strike. For one thing, far from being HOT, meteorites which reach the surface are actually COLD. In the few seconds of atmospheric passage, conduction has no hope of significantly heating the inside of anything bigger than a few cm across; only the very outside gets really hot. Most of the heat of entry it carried away by melt and/or vapor. No way a meteorite boiled water for more than a few seconds…..

By: dodo

dodo — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 09:43:35 +0000

smapdi raised the possibility of this being reentry of the Early Ammonia Servicer jettisoned from the ISS on 23 July. Looks like a smoking gun to me … They predicted up to a year before reentry, but stats show that average time to reentry for junk thrown off the ISS is about 36 days, with few staying aloft for more than 100 days. smapdi, did this thought originate with you, or do you have a source ?

By: carmelo

carmelo — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 09:18:27 +0000

good morning

yesterday I write a comment in a italian website, about my personal idea about the meteorite in PerÃ¹, I have write, that is my opinion, was maybe a dirty bomb with nerv gass like H2S, or something like space garbage, near the Bolivia border, 200 persons arround the crater the ppm of venomous gas .If was realy a meteorit the high temperature dont permit this …in every case, my opinion was delete after 2minutes
why?
greetings
carmelo

By: James

James — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 05:55:50 +0000

No no no, it was really a piece of debris from an ancient Martian defense satellite. It’s been secretly orbiting earth for millions of years, a remnant of an ancient war between the martians and the people of Planet X. Unfortunately, the craft was using a Torsion Navigation system that was affected by the same thing causing the decline in domestic bee populations (see http://www.enterprisemission.com/Bees/thebeesneeds.htm). The malfunctioning navigation caused it to collide with another satellite, what remained crashed to Earth. Of course, the crash caused the biochemical weapons on board to rupture. The sickness is being caused by the remnants of some ancient Martian biological weapon. Fortunately, since we are genetically similar to Martians, and the weapon was intended for use against the reptilian people of Planet X, it should only have a minor effect on us. However, folks should be on the look out for a bunch of dead lizards in the area….

Dang… that was almost too easy.

By: mark temple

mark temple — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:20:53 +0000

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20070919/sc_space/scientistsdoubtmeteoritesickenedperuvians

probably just a Geyser. would make more sense anyway, all the exotic bacteria living in the geyser could do some nasty things to people.

By: Jamas Enright

Jamas Enright — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 19:13:07 +0000

Why Zombies? My first thought was the X-Files episode “El Mundo Gira” (the one with El Chupacabra).
http://www.x-files.gr/guide/e4x11.htm

By: Inertially Guided

Inertially Guided — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:27:16 +0000

I’m thinking that a landmine from a past war in the region went off when a chemical tanker ran over it, thus generating crater, fireball, toxic and noxious gases, AND a tourist attraction!

Thank you, Thank you…just throw money, please!

By: Tegumai Bopsulai, FCD

Tegumai Bopsulai, FCD — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 17:07:47 +0000

Another vote for hydrovolcanic activity. Has anyone else been to Death Valley and seen Ubehebe crater?

By: Richard Smith

Richard Smith — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:42:33 +0000

SpikeShiel:

Just remember, whenever there’s a knocking at your shelter door, accompanied by cries of “Brains!”, always be sure to ask whether they’re zombies hungry for brains, or survivors thanking the thing that has kept them alive.

By: Kepler2

Kepler2 — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:48:23 +0000

A bunch of peasants in Peru declare a hole in their ground
is from a meteorite and they start getting sick?

Oh yeah, it must be true.

Has anyone actually found a meteorite at the site, or had
a real geologist come to check things out?

I’m still feeling punchy after reading about that ignoramus
from The View who doesn’t know if the planet she presumably
lives on is round or flat.

I see the world has been taking more stupid pills than usual
lately.

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:28:23 +0000

I don’t want to start a discussion on religion, but…

Isn’t this how Superman came to earth?

He was on an spaceship that crashed to earth… That would explain that fireball, the smoke and the bad smell of burning extraterrestrial fuel (kryptonite?)

Maybe the residents should look around for a little boy….

By: Sticks

Sticks — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 10:37:18 +0000

Were there any commercial airliners near by? Perhaps one of their toilets had sprung a leak and this was a large chunk of green ice – yuck

By: Ed Davies

Ed Davies — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 09:47:41 +0000

BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7001897.stm

Doesn’t add much except the more detailed picture.

By: smapdi

smapdi — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 04:56:44 +0000

I so want it to be the early ammonia servicer from the ISS.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/e15_eva_072307.html

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 03:41:20 +0000

I thought it was a book blurb for Ian Watson’s _The Martian Inca_ when I first read about it.

“The Mars probe has crashed. A triumph of Soviet technology, the first two-way interplanetary probe performed brilliantly until the final stage of its return. Then something went wrong: rather than following its programmed course to a soft landing in its country of origin, the probe crashed in the Peruvian Andes. Now a weird infection beyond the understanding of medical science has wiped out an entire village– except for one man, who, alone and undiscovered by the medics, survives. He has awakened to find himself become his own ancestor, and a god. Suddenly the flames of an Indian revolution are spreading in South America. He is the Martian Inca.”

By: gopher65

gopher65 — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 01:58:33 +0000

I’m curious as to why every one of my comments gets “snagged as spam”:P. Eventually they get approved, but still. There is nothing unusually about any individual comment I post that could be construed as bad by a spam filter. I hate spam filters.

By: whomever1

whomever1 — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 01:53:06 +0000

I just wanted to comment–as someone who has visited Puno–that I’d like to know what altitude the police officers came from. I sure wish I had had oxygen when I was up there.

By: gopher65

gopher65 — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 01:51:16 +0000

I think Gary Ansorge hit the nail on the head with this one. Some garbage was buried 50 years ago in an airtight container, and it took this long to build up to explosive levels. That crater just doesn’t look like an impact crater. It’s weirdly proportioned for something that small.