Expect More Meteorites
A new study suggests that small meteorites may survive their plunge through Earth’s atmosphere intact much more often than previously suspected.
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The so-called Kamil crater, named for the nearest mountain, was discovered in autumn 2008 during a low-altitude aerial survey conducted for Google Earth. A field expedition to the site in February 2009 recovered more than 5000 fragments of nickel-rich iron that together weighed more than 1.7 metric tons—a sure sign that the meter-deep crater had been blasted by an iron meteorite. A new study suggests that small meteorites like this may survive their plunge through Earth’s atmosphere intact much more often than previously suspected. And that means these objects could pose a greater danger than once believed.
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