Yahoo – AFP,
8 Sep 2014
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A
Nicaraguan soldier checks the site where an alleged meteorite struck, in
Managua, on September 7, 2014 (AFP Photo/German Miranda)
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Managua
(AFP) - A mysterious explosion that rocked Nicaragua's crowded capital Managua,
creating a large crater, appears to have been caused by a small meteorite,
officials said Sunday.
Amazingly,
in a sprawling city of 1.2 million people, the impact near the international
airport did not cause any known injuries, but it did leave a crater measuring
12 meters (39 feet) across and was felt throughout the capital late on
Saturday.
Nicaraguan
authorities believe it was a piece of the small asteroid dubbed "2014
RC," which passed very close to Earth on Sunday and was estimated by
astronomers to be about 20 meters big, or the size of a house.
"We
are convinced that this was a meteorite. We have seen the crater from the
impact," said Wilfredo Strauss of the Seismic Institute.
The
meteorite appeared to have hurtled into a wooded area near the airport around
midnight and the hit was so large that it registered on the instruments
Strauss's organization uses to size up earthquakes.
"You
can see two waves: first, a small seismic wave when the meteorite hit earth,
and then another stronger one, which is the impact of the sound," he said.
Government
officials and experts visited the impact site on Sunday.
 |
Nicaraguan
soldiers stand guard near the site where an alleged meteorite struck,
in
Managua, on September 7, 2014 (AFP Photo/German Miranda)
|
One of
them, William Martinez, said it was not yet clear if the meteorite burned up
completely or if it had been blasted into the soil.
"You
can see mirror-like spots on the sides of the crater from where the meteorite
power-scraped the walls," Martinez said.
Government
spokeswoman, First Lady Rosario Murillo, said Managua would be in contact with
the US Geological Service to try to get more information about "this
fascinating event" in the Central American nation, one of Latin America's
poorest countries.
People who
live near the crater told local media they heard a blast they took for an
explosion, and that liquid, sand and dust were blown through the air, which
smelled like something had burned.
There were
no reported injuries because the impact was in a wooded spot, and flights at
the airport were not affected.
NASA said
last week that the asteroid 2014 RC, at the time of closest approach, would be
approximately one-tenth the distance from the center of Earth to the moon, or
about 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers).
It had been
projected to be roughly over New Zealand at the time of its closest approach,
which astronomers had calculated would be on Sunday at about 1818 GMT.
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