14 year old boy hit by meteorite

SpiritWarrior · 06-12-2009, 07:42 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/200906...hitbymeteorite

WTF?

A 14-year old German boy was hit in the hand by a pea-sized meteorite that scared the bejeezus out of him and left a scar.

"When it hit me it knocked me flying and then was still going fast enough to bury itself into the road," Gerrit Blank said in a newspaper account. Astronomers have analyzed the object and conclude it was indeed a natural object from space, The Telegraph reports.

Most meteors vaporize in the atmosphere, creating "shooting stars," and never reach the ground. The few that do are typically made mostly of metals. Stony space rocks, even if they are big as a car, will usually break apart or explode as they crash through the atmosphere.

There are a handful of reports of homes and cars being struck by meteorites, and many cases of space rocks streaking to the surface and being found later.

But human strikes are rare. There are no known instances of humans being killed by space rocks

Variol (Farseer) Elmwood · 06-12-2009, 08:25 PM

Wow, any odds on that??

VulcanRider · 06-12-2009, 09:18 PM

It was moving fast enough to bury itself in the road, and it only left a scar on his hand? I'm surprised it didn't put a hole through his palm.

Chewbacca · 06-12-2009, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Variol (Farseer) Elmwood

Wow, any odds on that??

wicked long

Firestormalpha · 06-12-2009, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VulcanRider

It was moving fast enough to bury itself in the road, and it only left a scar on his hand? I'm surprised it didn't put a hole through his palm.

maybe the hit was more along the lines of a graze than a head-on impact.

Chewbacca · 06-13-2009, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Variol (Farseer) Elmwood

Wow, any odds on that??

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chewbacca

wicked long

This article states 1 in 100 Million

Excerpt:

Quote:

Chances of being struck by a meteorite are around one in 100 million.

Mr Korte said: "Most meteorites don't actually make it to ground level because they evaporate in the atmosphere.

"Of those that do get through, about six out of every seven of them land in water."

There is only one other known case of a human being surviving a direct hit from a meteor.

A grapefruit-sized meteor crashed through the roof of a house in Alabama, in the USA, in 1954.

After smashing through the top of the building, it bounced off furniture and then hit a woman who was asleep at the time.

06-12-2009, 07:42 PM	#1
SpiritWarrior Jack Burton Join Date: May 31, 2002 Location: Ireland Posts: 5,854	14 year old boy hit by meteorite http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/200906...hitbymeteorite WTF? A 14-year old German boy was hit in the hand by a pea-sized meteorite that scared the bejeezus out of him and left a scar. "When it hit me it knocked me flying and then was still going fast enough to bury itself into the road," Gerrit Blank said in a newspaper account. Astronomers have analyzed the object and conclude it was indeed a natural object from space, The Telegraph reports. Most meteors vaporize in the atmosphere, creating "shooting stars," and never reach the ground. The few that do are typically made mostly of metals. Stony space rocks, even if they are big as a car, will usually break apart or explode as they crash through the atmosphere. There are a handful of reports of homes and cars being struck by meteorites, and many cases of space rocks streaking to the surface and being found later. But human strikes are rare. There are no known instances of humans being killed by space rocks __________________ Still I feel like a child when I look at the moon, maybe I grew up a little too soon...

06-12-2009, 08:25 PM	#2
Variol (Farseer) Elmwood Jack Burton Join Date: May 16, 2003 Location: Dartmouth, NS Canada Age: 58 Posts: 5,634	Re: 14 year old boy hit by meteorite Wow, any odds on that?? __________________ A MAN WHO WANTS FOR NOTHING HAS INFINITE WEALTH. (me)

06-12-2009, 09:18 PM	#3
VulcanRider Lord Soth Join Date: July 25, 2002 Location: Melbourne FL Age: 59 Posts: 1,971	Re: 14 year old boy hit by meteorite It was moving fast enough to bury itself in the road, and it only left a scar on his hand? I'm surprised it didn't put a hole through his palm. __________________ ----- Help feed animals in shelters with just a mouse click at The Animal Rescue Site !!

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