Sylacauga (meteorite)

Sylacauga

A slice of the meteorite, the National Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian, DC
Type Chondrite
Class Ordinary chondrite
Group H4
Country United States
Region Alabama
Coordinates 33°11′18.1″N 86°17′40.2″W / 33.188361°N 86.294500°W / 33.188361; -86.294500Coordinates: 33°11′18.1″N 86°17′40.2″W / 33.188361°N 86.294500°W / 33.188361; -86.294500
Observed fall Yes
Fall date 18:46 UT on November 30, 1954
TKW 5.56 kg
Strewn field Yes

The Sylacauga meteorite fell on November 30, 1954, at 13:46 local time (18:46 UT)[1] in Oak Grove, Alabama, near Sylacauga. It is commonly called the Hodges meteorite because a fragment of it struck Ann Elizabeth Fowler Hodges (1920–1972).[2]

Importance

The Sylacauga meteorite is the first documented extraterrestrial object to have injured a human being in the USA. The grapefruit-sized fragment crashed through the roof of a frame house, bounced off a large wooden console radio, and hit Hodges while she napped on a couch.[3] The 34-year-old woman was badly bruised on one side of her body but able to walk. The event received worldwide publicity.

The Sylacauga meteorite is not the only extraterrestrial object to have struck a human. A manuscript published at Tortona, Italy, in 1677 tells of a Milanese friar who was killed by a meteorite.[4] In 1992 a small meteorite fragment (3 g) hit a young Ugandan boy in Mbale,[5] but it had been slowed down by a tree and did not cause any injury. The 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor in Russia caused over a thousand injuries, but these were due to breaking glass and similar damage from the meteor's explosion in the air, rather than victims' actually being struck by the object.

Fireball

The meteor made a fireball visible from three states as it streaked through the atmosphere, even though it fell early in the afternoon.[6] There were also indications of an air blast, as witnesses described hearing "explosions or loud booms".[7]

Following events

The meteorite was confiscated by the Sylacauga police chief who then turned it over to the United States Air Force.[8] Both the Hodges and their landlord, Bertie Guy, claimed the rock, Guy's claim being that it had fallen on her property.[8] There were offers of up to $5,000 for the meteorite. The Hodges and Bertie Guy settled, with the Hodges paying $500 for the rock.[8] However, by the time it was returned to the Hodges, over a year later, public attention had diminished, and they were unable to then find a buyer.[8]

Ann Hodges was uncomfortable with the public attention and the stress of the dispute over ownership of the meteorite.[9] The Hodges donated it to the Alabama Museum of Natural History in 1956.[8]

The day after the fall, local farmer Julius McKinney came upon the second-largest fragment from the same meteorite.[10] An Indianapolis-based lawyer purchased it for the Smithsonian Institution.[10] The McKinney family was able to use the money to purchase a car and a house.[10]

Fragments

Upon the entry into the atmosphere, the Sylacauga meteorite fragmented into at least 3 pieces:[1]

  1. The Hodges fragment (3.86 kilograms (8.5 lb) - 33°11′18.1″N 86°17′40.2″W / 33.188361°N 86.294500°W / 33.188361; -86.294500) struck Ann Elizabeth Hodges.
  2. The McKinney fragment (1.68 kilograms (3.7 lb) - 33°13′08.4″N 86°17′20.7″W / 33.219000°N 86.289083°W / 33.219000; -86.289083) was found the next day December 1, 1954 by Julius Kempis McKinney, an African-American farmer who sold the meteorite fragment he found to purchase a car and a house.[10]
  3. A third fragment is believed to have impacted somewhere near Childersburg (a few km north-west of Oak Grove).

Classification

The Sylacauga meteorite is classified as an ordinary chondrite of H4 group.[2]

Orbit

The meteoroid came in on the sunward side of the Earth, so when it hit, it had passed the perihelion and was travelling outward from the Sun. Considering the orbit estimations, the best candidate as parent body is 1685 Toro.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Povenmire, H. (1995). "The Sylacauga, Alabama Meteorite: The Impact Locations, Atmosphere Trajectory, Strewn Field and Radiant". Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 26: 1133. Bibcode:1995LPI....26.1133P.
  2. 1 2 Meteoritical Bulletin Database: Sylacauga
  3. ↑ Grundhauser, Eric (2 June 2015). "The Meteorite That Landed on a Woman in Alabama". Slate. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "Zeus Displeased". Futility Closet. January 12, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  5. ↑ "The Mbale Meteorite Fall". Dutch Meteor Society. 2002. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  6. ↑ Swindel, G.W.; Jones, W.B (1954). "The Sylacauga, Talladega County, Alabama, Aerolite". Meteoritics 1 (2): 125–132. Bibcode:1954Metic...1..125S. doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1954.tb01323.x.
  7. ↑ Underwood, Madison (February 15, 2013). "Russian meteorite blast recalls the Alabama woman struck by a meteorite in 1954". al.com. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Nobel, Justin (February 20, 2013). "The True Story of History's Only Known Meteorite Victim". National Geographic.
  9. ↑ Nobel, Justin (20 February 2013). "The True Story of History's Only Known Meteorite Victim". National Geographic. Retrieved 3 May 2015. Ann later suffered a nervous breakdown, and in 1964 she and Eugene separated. She died in 1972 at 52 of kidney failure at a Sylacaugan nursing home. Eugene suspects the meteorite and frenzy that followed had taken its toll on Ann. He said 'she never did recover,' according to the museum. Ann 'wasn't a person who sought out the limelight,' added museum director Randy Mecredy. 'The Hodges were just simple country people, and I really think that all the attention was her downfall.'
  10. 1 2 3 4 Ellington, M.J. (November 30, 2006). "A star fell on Sylacauga: '54 meteorite struck home, woman, changed lives". The Decatur Daily. Retrieved July 3, 2014.

External links

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