Editor's Note: After this story was posted, an AP story reported that a Peruvian scientist
said the hole was caused by a meteorite. [Story]
Scientists doubt
that the supposed meteorite strike that sickened some 200 residents of Peru last weekend actually involved anything from space.
Based on reports
of fumes emanating from the crater, some scientists actually suspect that
the event could have been some kind of geyser-like explosion rather than a meteorite
impact.
"Statistically,
it's far more likely to have come from below than from above," said Don
Yeomans, head of the Near Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
The noxious
fumes that have supposedly sickened curious locals who went to examine the crater
would seem to indicate hydrothermal activity, such as a local gas explosion,
because "meteorites don't give off odors," Yeomans told SPACE.com.
Skepticism
warranted
Several
times in recent history, reports of meteorite impacts have turned out to be
untrue after scientific examination. Doubt in the scientific community was as
rampant today as the speculations out of Peru.
Details surrounding
the incident are also increasing experts' skepticism.
"Many
of the reported features of the crater ('boiling water,' sulphurous
fumes, etc.) point to a geological mechanism of the crater formation," wrote
Benny Peiser, a social anthropologist at John Moores University, in a daily
newsletter that catalogues research and media coverage of space rock impacts
and other threats to humanity. "I would not be surprised if, after careful
analysis, the alleged meteorite impact reveals itself to be just another
'meteorwrong.'"
It's not
impossible that the crater was left by a meteorite, Yeomans said, but if so, then the impact object most
likely was small, based on the size of the crater. It would also probably
have been a metal
meteorite, because those are the only kind of small meteorites that don't
burn up as they plummet through Earth's atmosphere, he added. Small stony
meteorites rarely make it to the surface.
A couple
features of the event reports suggest there was a space rock involved, said geophysicist
Larry Grossman of the University of Chicago. The bright streak of light and
loud bangs seen and heard by locals are consistent with a meteor streaking
through Earth's atmosphere, he said. Most meteors do burn up, never becoming
meteorites (which is what they're called if they reach the surface).
Because no
one actually saw anything impact at the crater site, it's hard to say whether a
space rock was involved because they are often deceptive as to where they will
land. Many times, people swear a meteor landed nearby when in fact it was so
far away that it dipped below the local horizon but never actually struck the
ground.
"Sometimes
these things land hundreds or thousands of miles away from where [people] think
they will land," Grossman said.
Investigation
needed
Pictures of
the crater show that the hole in the ground appears fresh, Grossman said, and
the debris strewn around it is consistent with a meteorite
impact but also could have been caused by digging.
And there
are no previous reports of noxious fumes emanating from meteorite remnants or
their craters, he said.
"If
the noxious fumes came from the hole, it wasn't because the meteorite fell
there," Grossman said, saying they would like have come from something
already in the ground.
Grossman
said that to determine whether the crater was made by a meteorite, the water in
the hole must be pumped out and any large chunks of rock at the bottom should
be examined to see if they are consistent with meteoritic composition.
Peruvian
geologists are on their way to examine the crater, according to news reports.
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