Meteor Almost Hit A Skydiver

[Topper]

What do you think is it real or it's a fake?


http://www.buzzfeed.com/austinhunt/a-meteor-almost-hit-a-skydiver-and-it-was-caught-on-video

http://digg.com/video/skydiver-nearly-struck-by-small-meteorite

I believe it's true, because it's to crazy for an april fool...

 

[Urwumpe]

What do you think is it real or it's a fake?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfEdEIwhj6s

I think its fake. Especially since it seems to be a pretty large meteorite, how does this appear without getting noticed by others?

 

[Fabri91]

From the video it appeared to me to be only about 10-15 cm in diameter, and just how completely unexpected something like this would be could justify not seeing it.

It flew near only the one skydiver, and the possibly more visible "flamy" part might have happened before the jump, while they were in the plane.

 

[Urwumpe]

From the video it appeared to me to be only about 10-15 cm in diameter, and just how completely unexpected something like this would be could justify not seeing it.

I estimated it at head size, but still 10-15 cm is pretty huge for a meteorite. The falling stars, that you might cast a wish upon as child, are only dust size to thumbnail sized particles.

Something, that leaves 10-15 cm rock behind, must have been visible for hundreds of kilometers, even during the bright daylight.

 

[Coolio_vimal]

I guess its a dude's helmet

 

[garyw]

Something, that leaves 10-15 cm rock behind, must have been visible for hundreds of kilometers, even during the bright daylight.

And so should have been picked up by orbiting satellites. There would have also been an audible sonic boom. I call fake on this.

 

[Urwumpe]

And so should have been picked up by orbiting satellites. There would have also been an audible sonic boom. I call fake on this.

Yes - and even if you see only the skydivers in the video - nobody skydives far away from civilization.

 

[Castor]

Based on a mass of 5 kg, the meteorite should have been something between 18 cm and 27 cm in diameter.

I think it's fake.

 

[asbjos]

Here's a more objective and in-depth article on the event: http://www.nrk.no/viten/skydiver-nearly-struck-by-meteorite-1.11646757

Although you guys have some valid arguments, I have no reason to not trust the scientist's who are experts on the field.
Many people talk about that it could come from an air plane, the parachute or another skydiver, but I think the rock is travelling too fast and is too large for those scenarios to be likely causes.

Here is a short video in Norwegian, but with English subtitles of the event. It features the same contents as the video posted by topper, but is without most of the talking and laughing.

 

[garyw]

The problem is, this 'expert' is 'geologist Hans Amundsen' and whilst I respect geologists they are not normally the best people for saying what is meteorites or not. I also find it curious that the geologist is 'Hans Amundsen' and not 'Dr. Hans Amundsen' or even a professor.

 

[Castor]

Here's a more objective and in-depth article on the event: http://www.nrk.no/viten/skydiver-nearly-struck-by-meteorite-1.11646757

It could be possible that the meteorite might have been spotted in dark flight. But it does not account for the lack of a sonic boom as garyw suggested. As for the scientists, I think that this could be at play:
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias[/ame]

 

[Urwumpe]

The problem is, this 'expert' is 'geologist Hans Amundsen' and whilst I respect geologists they are not normally the best people for saying what is meteorites or not. I also find it curious that the geologist is 'Hans Amundsen' and not 'Dr. Hans Amundsen' or even a professor.

That is actually the least problem there: Geologists work starts, when a meteor has reached Earth. They are no experts on reentry aerodynamics. An astronomer would be the better choice.

Even if he is the best geologist, Europe has to offer - I don't see any reason to trust him in that affair, just like I wouldn't trust an geologist to repair my car... even if the dirt on it already has strata.

 

[Andy44]

If it is fake, it's a pretty elaborate hoax. THe video looks real enough, although we know by now that pictures can lie. But they've got people out in the woods looking for the thing, so that takes it beyond the casual prank level.

On another note, I find it interesting to hear a guy speaking Norwegian using the english lnaguage slang term "ish" to describe an estimated value, as in "looks like the meteor passed with 15m of you....ish". It always amazes what parts of pop culture propagte across language and culture boundries.

---------- Post added at 10:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:03 AM ----------

A quick search on "Hans Amundson geologist" turns up some news items not related to this meteor incident. I guess he's a real guy.

 

[ISProgram]

I got real excited when I first heard this story...

But now I think it's fake, or at the very least doubt it, mainly because you all brought up pretty good points.

The sheer change of a meteorite flying past a skydiver is just too improbable, in my opinion. The lack of a shock wave might make sense if it was, say, at terminal velocity, which is unlikely (?).

And so should have been picked up by orbiting satellites. There would have also been an audible sonic boom. I call fake on this.

While I don't doubt that a sat could pick up a meteorite, I'm pretty sure one would (?) have to be in the right position to catch one. Those do (probably) exist in GEO or something close. Actually, does anyone know what satellite can pick up meteorites? That would be useful.

Another thing. I thought meteors this size relatively hit the Earth all the time, so this could still be real... A far better question would be what its original size was...

 

[garyw]

While I don't doubt that a sat could pick up a meteorite, I'm pretty sure one would (?) have to be in the right position to catch one. Those do (probably) exist in GEO or something close. Actually, does anyone know what satellite can pick up meteorites? That would be useful.

Normally it's the nuclear monitoring satellites that pick up a slight flash in the atmosphere. This is a meterorite as photographed from the ISS:

Another thing. I thought meteors this size relatively hit the Earth all the time, so this could still be real... A far better question would be what its original size was...

That's the problem. Meteorites of that size do hit the atmosphere every day, this one, if real, to have survived the thermal shock heating of the atmosphere would have to have been much bigger to start off with.

 

[Unstung]

While I agree that it's odd such a meteorite hasn't been noticed before it hit the ground due to nobody seeing its shockwave, this thread itself has confirmation bias, and not the video. However, the geologist in the video may just be incorrect. There are many more factors that results in a meteorite surviving than this thread takes into account.

Normally it's the nuclear monitoring satellites that pick up a slight flash in the atmosphere. This is a meterorite as photographed from the ISS:

That image was taken at night which makes it an unfair comparison to something entering during the day. The Norwegian meteorite was definitely not the size of the Chelyabinsk meteor, so that's also not a legitimate comparison.

An expert says the event is certainly possible and more likely than not to be real.

 

[Unstung]

It turns out that, nonetheless, you guys appear to be right. It's actually, almost certainly, a rock ejected with a parachute. The video was not a hoax and the people honestly thought it could be a meteorite, which is the point Phil Plait was trying to make. Plait said that it's possible the object might be a meteorite, but I misinterpreted his purpose and overstated the possibility the object could be extraterrestrial.

 

[JonnyBGoode]

A meteorite would be moving much faster, I should think, and would probably be glowing red or white hot. Possibly even leaving a trail of smoke behind it. I'm thinking if this isn't a trick, and not something they accidentally brought with them, it could be a piece of orbital debris, which would have a much slower velocity than cometary debris.

 

[Unstung]

A meteorite would be moving much faster, I should think, and would probably be glowing red or white hot. Possibly even leaving a trail of smoke behind it. I'm thinking if this isn't a trick, and not something they accidentally brought with them, it could be a piece of orbital debris, which would have a much slower velocity than cometary debris.

By the time that a meteor reaches the ground, or lower atmosphere, the surviving object is colder than one would suspect, if not cool to the touch. It's a common misconception that fresh meteorites are hot enough to emit visible black-body radiation and burn things upon landing. Of course, if the meteorite is large enough to excavate a crater, there are other things to worry about than the heat energy generated from the impact.

The object appeared to be traveling at terminal velocity in the video, which Phil Plait touched upon.