Meteorite hits Texas, shock felt in near location

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
18 Feb 2023 08:32

A meteorite falls in Texas, US, causing shock waves near the point of impact.

Estimated strewn field, colored by meteorite mass. Yellow is 1g, up to red = 1,000g (NASA via Google Earth).

NASA, the US space agency, confirmed on Wednesday that a 450kg, 60cm meteorite has fallen in McAllen, Texas.

Local media stated that windows in homes close to the crash location vibrated when the meteorite hit the ground, in addition to a brief, strong shock to the earth.

Moreover, the US National Weather Service's satellites picked up on the meteorite's path and the associated blaze.

According to Mission Police Chief Cesar Torres, the meteorite fell at around 5:28 pm and caused a “large explosion or a boom within the city.”

NASA has released maps depicting the presumed land zone of the Texas-bound meteorite and, in a statement, explained that "although meteorites tend to hit Earth’s atmosphere at high speeds, they slow as they travel through the atmosphere, breaking into small fragments before hitting the ground. Meteorites cool rapidly and generally are not a risk to the public."

NEW VIDEO: This is what a meteor sounded like on @disdikmark’s home surveillance camera Wednesday in Texas. #mission #McAllen pic.twitter.com/qpyZlFtCS8
— Matthew Seedorff (@MattSeedorff) February 16, 2023

Every day, it is believed that approximately 2,000 tons of meteorites fall to Earth, weighing between a few grams to several tens of tonnes.

"The meteor seen in the skies above McAllen is a reminder of the need for NASA and other organizations to increase our understanding and protection of Earth, to combine scientific and engineering expertise to advance human space exploration, to integrate terrestrial and planetary research for furthering our understanding of the solar system, and to promote successful space missions by mitigating risk," read the statement.

There's been reports of a possible meteorite this evening west of McAllen. One of the satellite tools we use is the Geostationary Lightning Mapper & it measures lightning as observed from space. GLM detected a signal at 523 PM with no storms around. No official confirmation yet. pic.twitter.com/1NKRZTZU9C
— NWS Brownsville (@NWSBrownsville) February 16, 2023

Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra said, as he hinted at the recent alleged "spy balloon" spree in the country, “Obviously with all these incidents close, you can imagine what our constituents’ and our citizens’ fears were.”