A woman in France who was enjoying coffee with friends was recently hit by a small meteorite in what is considered an extremely rare occurrence, according to local news.
The woman was chatting with her friend outside on the balcony when she was hit by a mysterious pebble in her ribs, French newspapers report The Latest News from Alsace (DNA) is reported.
“I heard a ‘boom’ coming from the roof next to us. The next second, I felt a thump in my ribs. I thought it was an animal, a bat!” The woman, who has not been named, told the news outlet. “We thought it was a piece of cement, which we applied to the hillside tiles. But it turns out to be colorless.”
Meteorites are “space rocks” that survive their journey through Earth’s atmosphere and crash into Earth. These objects – known as meteors when they are in outer space – range in size from dust grains to small asteroids.
Stock image of meteorite entering Earth’s atmosphere. A woman in France was hit by a meteorite while she was having coffee with a friend. iStock/Getty Images
Meteorites originate from other, larger bodies – mainly asteroids, but also the Moon and other planets such as Mars. Meteorites can be rocky, metallic, or a combination of the two.
Most meteors disintegrate completely as they hurtle through Earth’s atmosphere at tens of thousands of miles per hour. Of those who reach Earth in some form, usually only a fraction of their original form remains. When meteorites are found, they tend to be between the size of a pebble and a fist.
After being hit by a rock, a French woman who lives in the municipality of Shermek in the north-east of the country took him to a roofer for examination. The bishop informs him that it is not made of cement but looks like a meteorite. Then I showed the mysterious object to geologist Thierry Repmann.
Geologists told DNA that the rock contained a mixture of iron and silicon, and could be a meteorite. In total, the total mass of all the meteorite pieces found is about 4 ounces. The phenomenon of people bumping into objects like that is extremely rare, Reibman said.
It’s estimated that around 50 tons of meteorite material falls to Earth each day, according to NASA. But most are minuscule and the majority are in the oceans, which cover about 70 percent of the planet’s surface.
When found on Earth, it is difficult to distinguish meteorites from ordinary Earth rock by appearance alone. In some places, such as deserts or ice, these space rocks are easier to spot.
“It’s very rare to find it in our temperate environment,” says Reibmann. “It blends with other elements. On the other hand, in a desert environment, we can find them more easily.”
Incidents of people being allegedly hit by meteorites have appeared throughout history, but evidence to support these claims is often lacking.
The first confirmed case of a meteor directly hitting a person was in the United States nearly 70 years ago.
This case concerned Ann Hodges of Sylacauga, Alabama, who was hit by an 8 pound rock meteorite that crashed into her roof in November 1954. The impact left her with severe bruising.
2023-07-14 19:40:23
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