[meteorite-list] Meteorite from Jupiter-- uh, I mean TO Jupiter

[Sterling K. Webb]

Hi,

    On the subject of small stones hitting people
and houses). Consider WETHERSFIELD 
(Connecticut), a small town of  26,271 people 
(2000 census). 

    On April 8, 1971, a small energetic stone 
penetrated a home, zinged around inside, and 
came to rest without hitting anybody. It was
sufficiently energetic to penetrate a sound roof,
2nd floor ceiling, 2nd floor/ceiling to living
room, and bounce off several surfaces, damaging
them, before stopping. Obviously, it could have
caused considerable damage to an unprotected 
human, like the Garza stone in PARK FOREST 
(Illinois) could have done.

    Ok, ok, this sort of thing happens, even in 
Wethersfield. Almost worth the brief attention 
you get. I can imagine calling your insurance 
agent, "You want to report -- what? 
ASTEROID damage?!" 

    Then, on November 8, 1982, a small energetic 
stone penetrated ANOTHER home in Wethersfield 
in the SAME neighborhood, zinged around inside, 
and came to rest without hitting anybody, about an 
half a mile away from the first home! Both stones 
were both L6's, of similar compositions (but 
different exposure ages). Coincidence or leprachauns?

    Historically, there are a great number of accounts, 
many of hits directly on human beings, besides the 
poor Alabama lady, who only got a really colorful and 
painful bruise after the meteorite holed the house!. 

    A Swedish man was struck by a meteorite in the arm. 
The arm was so damaged that it had to be amputated!
The (preserved) arm, by the way, is buried with him, but 
nobody knows what became of the stone. This case 
occurred in the nineteenth century but was unknown
outside of Sweden until this century, and was investigated
by Sky & Telescope magazine, but I can't find the year...

    On the other hand, consider The NOBLESVILLE 
(Indiana) stone that is the classic close approach fall case, 
perfect in every detail: "The stone passed two witnesses, 
Brodie Spaulding and Brian Kinzie, who observed it land 
3.56m in front of them on the lawn in front of a house. 
No light or sound except for the whirring sound as it 
passed and the thud in the ground was noticed. It is an 
oriented specimen with well-developed flight markings, 
weight 483.7g." Just after dusk on a perfect midwestern 
summer night, two boys are standing talking in the front 
yard in the new hush of evening, when... Whirrr. Thud.

    According to the report, this 1 pound plus stone didn't
even dent the soft soil. Obviously, it would NOT have taken 
the arm off of one of the two hapless teenagers if it had
struck them, whereas the damage to the Swedish man
was reported to be as if he had been struck by a small
cannon shot or several close musket shots.

    The velocity, hence energy, of a small stone varies
considerably. The Noblesville report of whirring indicates
that the stone was in rapid rotary motion, interacting 
aerodynamically, and was engaged in a kind of "flight" 
or glide that retarded it.

    Every small fall is different.


Sterling K. Webb