The meteorite mentioned struck Earth near McAllen, Texas, with energy equivalent to 8 tons of TNT, but there were no reports of casualties or damage.
A meteorite the size of a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and weighing about as much as four baby elephants crashed into Earth, near McAllen, Texas last Wednesday, NASA confirmed in recent days.
This meteorite impact was reported by KDFW, a Fox television affiliate in the Dallas area. The impact occurred around 6 PM local time last Wednesday, with some eyewitnesses having seen the phenomenon in the sky at that time.
Meteorites originate from asteroids or other large celestial bodies in space. Smaller asteroids under one meter are simply referred to as meteorites. When small meteorites or asteroids enter Earth’s atmosphere, they can be visible but mostly disintegrate, sometimes forming bright fireballs in the process. (Image: Jpost).
This was later confirmed by the U.S. National Weather Service, which reported that a lightning mapper had detected the flash of a meteorite just half an hour earlier. At the time of the phenomenon, he was unsure what had caused the flash, especially since there were no thunderstorms in the area that could produce lightning.
Security footage obtained by KDFW appears to have captured a distinct sonic boom, with the loud noise causing birds to flee, while many locals claimed to have felt a possible earthquake.
What Did the Meteorite Look Like When It Fell to Earth in Texas?
According to experts from NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the meteorite in question had a diameter of just over 60 cm and weighed about 454 kg.
This meteorite, although only the length of a Corgi dog, weighed as much as four baby elephants. (Image: Jpost).
According to experts from the Denver Zoo, a baby elephant can weigh up to 113 kg. This means that although the diameter of the meteorite is only about the average length of a Corgi dog, it weighs as much as four baby elephants.
The meteorite was traveling at nearly four times the speed of sound and exploded in Earth’s atmosphere at an altitude of about 34 km. Overall, the meteorite impact had energy equivalent to eight tons of TNT.
However, it seems there were no reports of any casualties or damage from the impact.
When a meteorite falls through Earth’s atmosphere, a very thin layer on the outer surface melts. This thin layer is called fusion crust. It is usually black and resembles an eggshell coating on the rock. However, this layer turns rusty brown after several years of exposure on Earth’s surface and will eventually disappear completely. (Image: Jpost)
Regardless, meteorite impacts occur quite frequently. In fact, according to the American Meteorological Society, this meteorite event is just one of at least three meteorite impacts that have occurred in recent days—two others in France and Italy, according to CBS News.
When meteorites collide with Earth, they often burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, which is also what typically happens during meteor showers.
Although, theoretically, fragments of this meteorite could pose a danger when they collide with the ground, in practice, it did not present any risk to anyone afterward.
“Although meteorites tend to enter Earth’s atmosphere at high speeds, they slow down as they travel through the atmosphere, breaking into smaller pieces before hitting the ground. Meteorites cool quickly and generally do not pose a danger to the public,” NASA stated in a release. (Image: Meteoritess.asu.edu).
Why Are Meteorites So Heavy?
Unlike ordinary rocks on Earth, meteorites contain high amounts of nickel-iron and other dense materials, meaning they are much heavier than common stones of the same size.
In fact, more than 50,000 meteorites have been found on Earth.
Of these, 99.8% come from asteroids. The remaining small fraction—0.2%—originate from Mars and the Moon. Among them, over 60 known Martian meteorites have been blasted off Mars due to cosmic impacts. All are igneous rocks crystallized from magma. These rocks are very similar to Earth rocks with some specific components indicating their Martian origin.
Nearly 80 lunar meteorites have similar composition and mineralogy to Moon rocks collected from the Apollo missions, but are different enough to prove that they come from different parts of the Moon.
All are igneous rocks crystallized from magma. (Image: Chron).
The Impact of Meteorites
Early Earth experienced numerous large meteorite impacts that caused widespread destruction. While most of the craters left by ancient impacts on Earth have been erased due to erosion and other geological processes, the craters formed by this process on the Moon remain largely intact and visible. Today, we know that there are about 190 impact craters on Earth.
An impact by a very large asteroid 65 million years ago is believed to have contributed to the extinction of approximately 75% of marine and terrestrial animals on Earth at that time, including the dinosaurs. It created the Chicxulub crater, which is 300 km wide on the Yucatán Peninsula.
Today, we know that there are about 190 impact craters on Earth. (Image: Solarsystem).
One of the best-preserved impact craters is the Barringer meteorite crater in Arizona. It is about 1 km wide and was formed by the impact of a nickel-iron meteorite about 50 meters in diameter.
More recently, in 2013, the world was startled by a blazing fireball sweeping across the sky of Chelyabinsk, Russia. The meteorite, the size of a house, entered the atmosphere at over 18 km per second and then exploded at a height of 23 km above the ground.
The explosion released energy equivalent to about 440,000 tons of TNT, creating a shockwave that blew out windows over an area of 518 square kilometers and damaged buildings. More than 1,600 people were injured in the explosion, primarily due to glass shards.
