[meteorite-list] Meteorite in India Causes Stir

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Nov 29 17:41:54 2004
Message-ID: <200411292241.OAA21787_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/940544.cms

Valsad meteorite causes stir
The Times of India
November 30, 2004

AHMEDABAD: As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Sylacauga
meteorite impact -- when a meteorite hit this little known town in the
US and made it world famous -- tribals of Nandgao village in Valsad
district in Gujarat will have something to talk about and tell the
world: A "rock from the sky" that fell on their village on October 29
and is now an object of study by scientists.

When the 1.7-kg, darkhued meteorite hit the village, its residents
believed it was a gift from heaven and decided to set up a temple for
their "meteorite god." It was the efforts of amateur astronomers that
the rock was retrieved and sent to the Physical Research Laboratory
(PRL) here.

According to Manoj Pai, general secretary of the Confederation of Indian
Amateur Astronomers, tribals in Nandgao village heard a loud thud and
felt the vibration from the impact of the meteorite hitting the ground.
For one full day, they were too afraid to approach the "object." It was
when they approached the authorities for permission to build a temple
there, the officials of the district collectorate, Forensic Sciences
Laboratory and amateur astronomers came to know about it.

It was a similar thud on November 30, 1954, that had 32-year-old Hulitt
Hodges, a resident of the sleepy town of Sylacauga, rudely awakened from
her sleep in her house. She saw the sunlight entering from the hole in
her roof. Next to her lay a hot, rough edged black piece of stone - a
meteorite.

This nine pound meteorite had broken through the ceiling of her house.
Little did she know that this incident would earn her town - Sylacauga a
permanent place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Today, the
meteorite rests at the Alabama State Museum of the Alabama University.

Talking about the Valsad meteorite, senior scientist at PRL Narendra
Bhandari says: "There is a small amount of radioactivity in the
meteorite, produced by radiation that comes from outer space known as
cosmic rays. Since these radioactive rays are feeble, there are no
harmful results. But, it is important for understanding how cosmic rays
interact with matter. Radioactive measurement shows that there are about
15 radio isotopes in the meteorite. Some preliminary chemical analysis
has also been done. The meteorite is made primarily of a mineral called
feldspar. We are yet to classify its type."
Received on Mon 29 Nov 2004 05:41:50 PM PST