The discovery of gravitational waves yesterday may be deservedly hogging the space headlines , but over in India there ’s a extend argument raging on the origins of another cosmic phenomenon .
to begin with this hebdomad , we reportedthat a man in the Vellore territorial dominion in southerly Tamil Nadu in India had supposedly been killed by a meteorite . If genuine , this would be the first - ever recorded death of a human from a meteorite . The eruption that killed the man supposedly hurt three others nearby , and formed a crater in the ground .
But NASA was having none of it . The agency saidit was not possible the event was due to a meteorite , suggesting some other source for the blast . “ While more details are forthcoming from local scientists , this is improbable something from space , ” NASA spokesman Dwayne Brown enounce in astatement . “ To form a volcanic crater the size of what has been posted online would have want a meteorite of at least several kilograms . ”
New finding from scientists in India , though , tally a new level to the debate . A preliminary report by the National College Instrumentation Facility ( NCIF ) in Trichy state that the clap almost certainly was triggered by a meteorite . They came to this conclusion by studying fragments of the suspected meteorite near the impact site , showing the “ front of carbonaceous chondrite , ” reportedThe Indian Express .
“ carbonous denotes objects containing carbon or its compounds and chondrites refer to non - metal meteorite theatrical role containing mineral granule , ” said K. Anbarasu , a geologist and principal of the Trichy - based National College , although he said that it was not a “ common type ” of meteorite . The meteorite has thus been call BEC 1 , after the internet site it was found at , the Bharathidasan Engineering College .
V. Adimurthy , a senior blank scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation , tell the Indian Express the findings were “ very significant , ” sum up : “ The account may be clinch evidence . These findings should be share with other textile science experts . ”
Further validation of the findings will be needed . But for now the saga continues , and it at least highlights that we want good system to track possible space rocks entering our atmosphere , regardless of the true origin of this clap .
NASA has not yet responded to IFLScience for a remark on the recent growing .
