Managua event
The Managua meteorite was a suspected meteorite which fell on 7 September 2014 in Managua, Nicaragua. It may have created a crater 12 m (39 ft) wide and 5 m (16 ft) deep in the vicinity of Augusto C. Sandino International Airport.[1][2][3]
The Managua event was not related to the close Earth flyby of the asteroid 2014 RC, which happened earlier that day.[4] 2014 RC was about 40,000 km from Earth at its closest approach, over New Zealand, nothing on the same trajectory could have entered the Earth's atmosphere over Nicaragua[5]; and the crater in Managua was reported 12 hours prior to 2014 RC's closest approach[6]. As of 8 September, there have been speculations that the Managua event may have been caused by a falling block of ice.[4] There are no witnesses to the meteor or a bolide and no meteorites have yet been recovered.
The much larger Chelyabinsk meteor airburst, resulting in the Lake Chebarkul impact crater, has been compared to the Managua meteor event since both objects were undetected prior to entering the earth's atmosphere and produced craters.[7]
References
- ^ Neuman, Scott (8 September 2014). "Meteor Leaves 40-Foot Crater Near Managua's Airport". NPR. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- ^ AP News (7 September 2014). "Small Meteorite Hits Managua". New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- ^ "Small meteorite strikes Nicaragua, government says". The Big Story. Associated Press. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- ^ a b "Nasa: Asteroid 2014 RC flies past Earth". BBC. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- ^ http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news184.html
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=747872625273784
- ^ http://www.kxly.com/news/technology/meteorite-makes-big-crater-in-nicaragua/27933528