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Managua event

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Michaelbusch (talk | contribs) at 04:53, 13 September 2014 (No, an association with 2014 RC is not "unlikely". It is _impossible_, based on the trajectories involved. Nor is there any evidence that whatever happened in Managua was a meteorite fall, and quite a lot of evidence that it most likely was not.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Managua event was an explosive event that was widely reported as a possible meteorite fall on 6 September 2014 in Managua, Nicaragua, near the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport runway.

Witnesses in Managua reported hearing a blast and seeing a dust cloud that smelled like something had burned, on the night of 6 September.[1] A crater 12 m (39 ft) wide and 5 m (16 ft) deep was found in the vicinity of the Nicaraguan Air Force base zone of the airport. Initial reports claimed that that two seismic waves were detected associated with the event,[1]. Small seismic impulse signatures seem evident on the Nicaraguan Seismic Network INETER [2] helical seismograph charts [3] corresponding to 05:04:45 UTC (23:04:45 Local Time) at the Managua seismic station (MGAN BLZ NU).

In media press conference interviews on 7 September 2014, local geophysical scientists who visited the site described finding "tiny mirror-like particles" in the volcanic ash soil along the walls of the crater (exact coordinates = 12°08′38.96″N 086°11′03.04″W / 12.1441556°N 86.1841778°W / 12.1441556; -86.1841778) and noted ejecta "extending off toward the east-north-east". Aerial photography [4] shot on 7 September 2014 was released widely to the media, and showed the crater with a dispersed fan of ejecta extending about 25 m (82 ft) easterly. In the initial press conference, scientists indicated they "would need to study the site further" and were "seeking to collaborate with experts in other countries". An inter-institutional commission was formed to investigate, made up of the following experts: Colonel Manuel Guevara, head of Army Public Relations; Fidel Moreno; Wilfried Strauch, INETER Advisor; Jose Milan, Seismic Advisor; William Martinez, geologist; Humberto Garcia, UNAN-Managua Astronomical Center; and Humberto Saballos, INETER volcanologist.[5]

Although the earliest news reports made no claim of a meteor,[6] many news sources reported speculations that a meteor had created the crater and the blast.[7][8][9] Many of the speculations proposed an association between the Managua event and the close Earth flyby of the asteroid 2014 RC, which happened late on 7 September.[10] Any such association is not possible: 2014 RC was about 40,000 km (25,000 mi) from Earth at its closest approach, over New Zealand, nothing on the same trajectory could have entered the Earth's atmosphere over Nicaragua;[11][12] and the crater in Managua was reported 13 hours prior to 2014 RC's closest approach.[13]

No eyewitnesses, ground-based cameras, or satellite operators reported seeing a meteor (bolide), and no meteorites have been recovered. To create a crater of that size by meteorite impact would have required a bolide brighter than the full Moon.[14] This indicates that the crater was most likely not produced by a meteorite fall.[15][16]

Other potential explanations for the crater's formation include ground slumping, a sinkhole, excavation, or a ground-based explosive detonation - either that which caused the blast reported on the night of 6 September or one that occurred before that time.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/07/meteor-strikes-near-nicaraguas-capital-leaving-39-foot-crater/
  2. ^ http://www.ineter.gob.ni/
  3. ^ "Managua Seismic Station MGAN BLZ NU Heliplot for UTC 07 Sep 2014". INETER, Nicaragua. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  4. ^ Nicaragua, Army of. "Aerial photo of crater showing ejecta". Interlochen Public Radio. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Cae meteorito en Managua (Meteorite falls in Managua)". Managua TV Channel 13 on YouTube.
  6. ^ Mysterious explosion rocks Managua
  7. ^ Neuman, Scott (8 September 2014). "Meteor Leaves 40-Foot Crater Near Managua's Airport". NPR. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  8. ^ AP News (7 September 2014). "Small Meteorite Hits Managua". New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  9. ^ "Small meteorite strikes Nicaragua, government says". The Big Story. Associated Press. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Nasa: Asteroid 2014 RC flies past Earth". BBC. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  11. ^ http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news184.html
  12. ^ a b http://www.universetoday.com/114397/the-nicaragua-crater-the-result-of-a-meteorite-impact-or-not/
  13. ^ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=747872625273784
  14. ^ Did a Meteorite Cause a Crater in Nicaragua?
  15. ^ http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news185.html
  16. ^ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/140908-managua-meteor-nasa-science/
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