Meteorite hits ground in Jaipur, 4 kg (8.8 lbs) rock-like object found
A mysterious rock-like object appears to have fallen from the sky in an open field near the Bhankhrora residential area in the city of Jaipur, the capital of India’s Rajasthan state on June 6, 2017, causing panic among locals.
What's left of the object, suspected to be a meteorite, weighs approximately 4 kg (8.8 lbs) and has dark gray color. Local media quoted police saying a few other pieces of the rock-like object were also found.
"Locals spotted the object in the morning and informed us. It seems the object fell at a great speed as it has created a small crater on the ground in Mukundpura village," SHO of Bhankhrora Police Station Hemendra Sharma told PTI, DNA India reported.
The Geological Survey of India and Forensic Science Laboratory officials have been informed and an official investigation is expected.
There are no reports of damage or injuries.
While the origin of this object is unknown, we do know that this week our planet is passing through a debris field left over by an unknown source and that this passage is causing a meteor shower in a broad daylight. This happens every year in early June, and the resulting Arietid meteor shower typically peaks on June 7.
"If you could turn off the Sun, you would see more than 60 meteors per hour, making it one of the most active showers of the year. No one is sure where Arietid meteoroids come from, although some astronomers suspect they are debris from sungrazing asteroid 1566 Icarus. Another candidate is comet 96P/Machholz," SpaceWeather's Dr. Tony Phillips explained.
Featured image: Daytime meteor fireball in St. Louis area – June 6, 2016. Credit: Dan Robinson
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