Texas Meteorite That Caused 'Loud Bang' Caught on Several Videos
A Texas meteorite crashed on Mission Wednesday night, causing a loud boom and scaring the locals.
A "large explosion" or "boom" was heard on Wednesday just before 5:30 p.m., according to Mission Police Chief Cesar Torres and Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra, whose offices received a flood of calls about it, NBC reports.
At a press conference on Thursday, Torres added that some callers reported feeling their house shake. He said that no one was hurt or any property was damaged in Mission, close to Mexico's border.
The Texas meteorite had a diameter of about 2 feet and a weight of roughly 1,000 pounds, according to NASA's Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate.
"The angle and speed of entry, along with signatures in weather radar imagery, are consistent with other naturally occurring meteorite falls," a news release from the division said. "Radar and other data indicate that meteorites did reach the ground from this event."
According to Texas Rep. Mónica de la Cruz, the Houston air traffic control has spotted the meteor.
Guerra warned locals not to handle any meteorites they might find, and Torres said authorities still had yet to pinpoint the exact impact site.
According to Torres, anyone who finds it should report it to the police immediately.
Almost a month ago, a huge Texas meteor exploded above southeast Texas, including Houston, lighting up the sky as it exploded in Earth's atmosphere.
Both Louisiana and Oklahoma reported seeing the event.
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Texas Meteorite 2023 Twitter Reactions
Residents recorded the meteorite's impact and posted videos on Twitter, with some saying that their houses shook when the South Texas meteorite crashed, according to Chron.
Heres how it sounded like north mission pic.twitter.com/F0k4gjqjVV
— audeez (@disdikmark) February 16, 2023
Several videos showed the fireball raging above McAllen. There have been numerous reports of UFOs in the United States recently, leading some to speculate that this might be one of them.
The American Meteor Society noted that there are no big active meteor showers; hence, its origins are a complete mystery.
Although only about five complaints were made to the AMS, Wednesday's meteorite incident in South Texas was notable.
An Asteroid Also Lit Up English Channel Sky
An asteroid entered Earth's atmosphere early on Monday, creating a bright flash visible from the English Channel, per The Daily Mail.
The 3-foot meteoroid caused a shooting star and an "airburst" that was visible in southern England and Wales and northern France south of Paris.
At roughly two miles off the French coast, a rock known as 2023 CX1 reached the sky at 3 a.m. It broke into small pieces that fell into the water, causing a flame.
The European Space Agency called this "a sign of the rapid advancements in global asteroid detection capabilities" because it was only the seventh time an asteroid hit had been appropriately predicted.
Scientists believe that predicting innocuous asteroids, like the one spotted this morning, is good practice for detecting ones that could threaten Earth.
Meanwhile, NASA wrote that the South Texas meteorite on Wednesday night should serve as a reminder to increase Earth's understanding and protection, "to combine scientific and engineering expertise to advance human space exploration, to integrate terrestrial and planetary research for furthering our understanding of the solar system, and to promote successful space missions by mitigating risks."
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Bert Hoover
WATCH: NASA confirms meteor fell in South Texas - From KIII 3 News
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