India Meteorite News- 3JUN09

`Object that fell from sky was a meteorite'
The Times of India 3 Jun 2009, 2224 hrs IST, Abhinav Malhotra, TNN

KANPUR: "Meteorite is a rocky material which enters into earth's atmosphere from outside the earth (for eg, Mars) whereas numerous small and big rocks circulating in between the planets Mars and Jupiter are known as asteroids," said Prof Harish Chandra Verma of department of Physics of IIT-K while talking to TOI, specifying the difference between a meteorite and an asteroid.

Prof Verma ruled out the possibility of the stone being an asteroid as reported in some newspapers and emphatically remarked that the initial study of the piece of the rock done on Wednesday confirms that it's a meteorite. Usually such pieces of rock (debris) come from asteroid belt only but sometimes they may very well be a part of other celestial bodies also.

Prof Verma was referring to the incident of May 28, when a 1 kg stone resembling a meteorite fell down from the sky about 12 noon and left the people of the Karimatti hamlet in Hamirpur district amazed and puzzled. The stone which is ten inches in length and five inches in width was put in water to bring down its high temperature. Eyewitness to the entire incident, Mannu Lal, a villager was the first to observe this heavenly body. In no time, the news of the incident had spread like a wild fire in the entire village. The matter was then referred to the administration, which took the stone in its possession.

Prof Verma, travelled 200 km and brought the stone to IIT-K on Tuesday last for detailed study. Visibly excited with the discovery of the magnetic stone, Prof Verma shared his experience and said, "It's confirmed now that it is a meteorite due to its properties. As it was getting attracted towards a magnet and also the whole of the stone was covered with a black layer it gave us an idea of it being a meteorite.''

"Genuine scientific tests done on this meteorite will help us to know more about the secrets of the solar system like what was the composition of the solar system when it was formed, what was the early solar system like etc," he further said.
Prof Verma went on to say that the researchers from Physical Research Lab, Ahmedabad, University of Jodhpur, Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and IIT-K will carry out tests in collaboration.

SOURCE: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kanpur/Object-that-fell-from-sky-was-a-meteorite/articleshow/4614002.cms