Meteor Freak
Is it really true that a meteor hit a German person? When I first heard the “news” of this event I had my doubts. This isn’t impossible, but I would have to say it is improbable. Here is what supposedly happened, a 14-year old German boy, Gerrit Blank, claims that he saw a bright light and heard an enormous clap of thunder. He also claims, the meteorite left a foot wide crater in the ground after grazing off the back of his hand.
Now some meteor facts to help you decide: Meteoroids enter the atmosphere at anywhere from 40,000 to 120,000 miles per hour but meteoroids are not usually traveling at speeds fast enough to produce light (meteor) when they are near the ground. A meteoroid will generally reach a terminal velocity of approximately 200 to 400 miles per hour anywhere from 9 to 12 miles high. Meteorites are usually not glowing hot when they hit the ground due to the ablation process, which is basically the same principle spacecraft use to reenter our atmosphere.
Please understand I really want to believe that this occurred, but the story just doesn’t add up. I welcome your comments but in the meantime bookmark the site and get ready for the June Bootids occurring June 22. We look forward to increased meteor shower activity in the next three months. I hope you enjoyed this little anecdote.
I am going to look a little further into this story, but I have my doubts. Keep your head up.
- Meteor Mark
on Jun 13th, 2009 at 1:58 am
Let me know what you find out about the boy, sounds like a huge stretch to me.
on Jun 13th, 2009 at 2:07 am
Dacooler,
Just bookmark the site and check here. There will be some good meteor showers coming too.
- Meteor Mark