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2007 Carancas impact event
The Carancas impact event refers to the fall of the Carancas chondritic meteorite on September 15, 2007, near the village of Carancas in Peru, close to the Bolivian border and Lake Titicaca. The impact created a small crater in the clay soil and scorched earth around its location. A local official, Marco Limache, said that "boiling water started coming out of the crater, and particles of rock and cinders were found nearby", as "fetid, noxious" gases spewed from the crater. Surface impact occurred above 3,800 metres (12,500 ft).
After the impact, villagers who had approached the impact site grew sick from a then-unexplained illness, with a wide array of symptoms. Two days later, Peruvian scientists confirmed that there had indeed been a meteorite strike, quieting widespread speculation that it might have been a geophysical rather than a celestial event. At that point, no further information on the cause of the mystery illness was known. The ground water in the local area is known to contain arsenic compounds, and the illness is now believed to have been caused by arsenic poisoning incurred when residents of the area inhaled the vapor of the boiling arsenic-contaminated water.
At 11:40:14 local time (16:40:14 GMT) on September 15, 2007, a chondritic meteorite crashed near the village of Carancas in the Puno Region, Peru, near the Bolivian border and Lake Titicaca (see map box on right). The impact created a crater larger than 4.5 m (15 ft) deep, 13 m (43 ft) wide, with visibly scorched earth around the impact site. A local official, Marco Limache, said that "boiling water started coming out of the crater, and particles of rock and cinders were found nearby", as "fetid, noxious" gases spewed from the crater. The crater size was given as 13.80 by 13.30 metres (45.3 by 43.6 ft), with its greatest dimensions in an east–west direction. The fireball had been observed by the locals as strongly luminous with a smoky tail, and seen from just 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above the ground. The object moved in a direction toward N030E. The small seismic shock of the impact shattered the windows of the local health center 1-kilometer (0.62 mi) away. A smoke column was formed at the site that lasted several minutes, and gas was seen bubbling up in the water in the crater.
One villager was as close as 100 metres (330 ft) from the impact site. He fell from his bicycle but was not injured. A small building 120 metres (390 ft) from the impact site only sustained roof damage from flying debris. The loud noise and explosive impact originally led Peruvians to think that Chile had launched a rocket attack.
Soon after the impact, more than 600 villagers visited the site and some began to fall ill from unexplained causes, including symptoms of dermal injuries, nausea, headaches, diarrhea and vomiting. On September 20, Peruvian scientists confirmed that there had been a meteorite strike, but no further information on the cause of the illnesses was known. Impact crater specialists have called the impact unusual, and have stated that the meteorite was at least 3 m (10 ft) in diameter before disintegrating. The ground water in the area was known to contain arsenic compounds, and the illness was believed to have been caused by arsenic poisoning incurred when residents of the area inhaled the vapor of the boiling arsenic-contaminated water.
According to cosmochemist Larry Grossman of the University of Chicago, the aerial lights and explosions reported were consistent with extraterrestrial material. Astrophysicist Jose Ishitsuka of the Geophysical Institute of Peru confirmed that there had been a meteorite strike, and remains of the impactor were found at the crater site.
On September 20, the X-Ray Laboratory at the Faculty of Geological Sciences, Mayor de San Andres University, La Paz, Bolivia, published a report of their analysis of a small sample of material recovered from the impact site. They detected iron, nickel, cobalt, and traces of iridium — elements characteristic of the elemental composition of meteorites. The quantitative proportions of silicon, aluminium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus are incompatible with rocks that are normally found at the surface of the Earth.
INGEMMET (Instituto Geológico Minero y Metalúrgico) of Peru released internally a report on the Carancas meteorite fall on September 21. The release of the document to the public was delayed for one week. The researchers found that the fragments from the crater zone had a chondritic texture and the following mineral composition: pyroxene (1) 40%, olivine 20%, feldspar 10%, pyroxene (2) 10%; kamacite 15%, troilite 5%, and traces of chromite and native copper. Kamacite occurs naturally only in meteorites.
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2007 Carancas impact event
The Carancas impact event refers to the fall of the Carancas chondritic meteorite on September 15, 2007, near the village of Carancas in Peru, close to the Bolivian border and Lake Titicaca. The impact created a small crater in the clay soil and scorched earth around its location. A local official, Marco Limache, said that "boiling water started coming out of the crater, and particles of rock and cinders were found nearby", as "fetid, noxious" gases spewed from the crater. Surface impact occurred above 3,800 metres (12,500 ft).
After the impact, villagers who had approached the impact site grew sick from a then-unexplained illness, with a wide array of symptoms. Two days later, Peruvian scientists confirmed that there had indeed been a meteorite strike, quieting widespread speculation that it might have been a geophysical rather than a celestial event. At that point, no further information on the cause of the mystery illness was known. The ground water in the local area is known to contain arsenic compounds, and the illness is now believed to have been caused by arsenic poisoning incurred when residents of the area inhaled the vapor of the boiling arsenic-contaminated water.
At 11:40:14 local time (16:40:14 GMT) on September 15, 2007, a chondritic meteorite crashed near the village of Carancas in the Puno Region, Peru, near the Bolivian border and Lake Titicaca (see map box on right). The impact created a crater larger than 4.5 m (15 ft) deep, 13 m (43 ft) wide, with visibly scorched earth around the impact site. A local official, Marco Limache, said that "boiling water started coming out of the crater, and particles of rock and cinders were found nearby", as "fetid, noxious" gases spewed from the crater. The crater size was given as 13.80 by 13.30 metres (45.3 by 43.6 ft), with its greatest dimensions in an east–west direction. The fireball had been observed by the locals as strongly luminous with a smoky tail, and seen from just 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above the ground. The object moved in a direction toward N030E. The small seismic shock of the impact shattered the windows of the local health center 1-kilometer (0.62 mi) away. A smoke column was formed at the site that lasted several minutes, and gas was seen bubbling up in the water in the crater.
One villager was as close as 100 metres (330 ft) from the impact site. He fell from his bicycle but was not injured. A small building 120 metres (390 ft) from the impact site only sustained roof damage from flying debris. The loud noise and explosive impact originally led Peruvians to think that Chile had launched a rocket attack.
Soon after the impact, more than 600 villagers visited the site and some began to fall ill from unexplained causes, including symptoms of dermal injuries, nausea, headaches, diarrhea and vomiting. On September 20, Peruvian scientists confirmed that there had been a meteorite strike, but no further information on the cause of the illnesses was known. Impact crater specialists have called the impact unusual, and have stated that the meteorite was at least 3 m (10 ft) in diameter before disintegrating. The ground water in the area was known to contain arsenic compounds, and the illness was believed to have been caused by arsenic poisoning incurred when residents of the area inhaled the vapor of the boiling arsenic-contaminated water.
According to cosmochemist Larry Grossman of the University of Chicago, the aerial lights and explosions reported were consistent with extraterrestrial material. Astrophysicist Jose Ishitsuka of the Geophysical Institute of Peru confirmed that there had been a meteorite strike, and remains of the impactor were found at the crater site.
On September 20, the X-Ray Laboratory at the Faculty of Geological Sciences, Mayor de San Andres University, La Paz, Bolivia, published a report of their analysis of a small sample of material recovered from the impact site. They detected iron, nickel, cobalt, and traces of iridium — elements characteristic of the elemental composition of meteorites. The quantitative proportions of silicon, aluminium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus are incompatible with rocks that are normally found at the surface of the Earth.
INGEMMET (Instituto Geológico Minero y Metalúrgico) of Peru released internally a report on the Carancas meteorite fall on September 21. The release of the document to the public was delayed for one week. The researchers found that the fragments from the crater zone had a chondritic texture and the following mineral composition: pyroxene (1) 40%, olivine 20%, feldspar 10%, pyroxene (2) 10%; kamacite 15%, troilite 5%, and traces of chromite and native copper. Kamacite occurs naturally only in meteorites.