[meteorite-list] Statistically Speaking

From: Robert A. Juhl <bartraj_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:32:19 +0800 (MYT)
Message-ID: <38835.125.100.207.211.1321864339.squirrel_at_webmail.time.net.my>

Hello List,

There is also this 1994 paper by Yau and Yeomans, Meteorite falls in
China and some related human casualty events
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1994Metic..29..864Y), which "suggests
that the probability of a meteorite striking a human is far greater
than previous estimates." However, the abstract ends by saying "...it
is difficult to verify the accuracy of the reported casualty events."

Abstract: Statistics of witnessed and recovered meteorite falls found
in Chinese historical texts for the period from 700 B.C. to AD. 1920
are presented. Several notable features can be seen in the binned
distribution as a function of time. An apparent decrease in the number
of meteorite reports in the 18th century is observed. An excess of
observed meteorite falls in the period from 1840 to 1880 seems to
correspond to a similar excess in European data. A X2 probability test
suggests that the association between the two data sets are real.
Records of human casualties and structural damage resulting from
meteorite falls are also given. A calculation based on the number of
casualty events in the Chinese meteorite records suggests that the
probability of a meteorite striking a human is far greater than
previous estimates. However, it is difficult to verify the accuracy of
the reported casualty events.

Robert A. Juhl
Received on Mon 21 Nov 2011 03:32:19 AM PST