[meteorite-list] Meteorite Fall In Sri Lanka?

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:08:27 2004
Message-ID: <200209171602.JAA26218_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5118544%255E401,00.html

Meteorite hits Sri Lanka: report
>From correspondents in Colombo, Sri Lanka
Agence France-Presse
September 17, 2002

A suspected meteorite crashed in a ball of fire in Sri Lanka, burning down
trees and scattering particles over a celebrated giant rock, officials and
scientists said.

Residents of Dimbulagala, 220km north of Colombo, reported "a strange
light which they had seen descending from the sky" three weeks ago, said
Parakrama Beligammana, the chief state administrative officer in the
region.

He travelled on Sunday to the city, where he said trees had been burnt
down and particles from what seemed to be a meteorite were scattered
over half a hectare.

The pieces fell on a famous 4km rock that is home to an ancient Buddhist
temple.

The particles "were quite heavy because of its high density and were
bluish-black in colour", Beligammana said.

Chandana Jayaratne, a senior physics lecturer at Colombo University,
said he was looking at the particles and that if they are confirmed to be
from a meteorite they will be sent for verification to the US space agency
NASA.

"They look like particles from a meteorite but until the tests are done
nothing can be said," Jayaratne told AFP.

Beligammana said it was unlikely the trees were burnt by bushfire
because they were on the centre of the rock where fires are difficult to
spread.

Dimbulagala, home to 73,000 people of the majority Sinhalese
community, has over the years come under heavy attack by Tamil Tiger
rebels.

But the government and the guerrillas have been observing a truce since
February 23 and yesterday opened historic peace talks in Thailand.
Received on Tue 17 Sep 2002 12:02:48 PM PDT