1,000-Pound Meteor Hits Texas

What has happened in Texas?

Have you ever watched a superhero movie in which a mysterious object crash lands on Earth? Recently, a mysterious object crashed into Texas, United States of America (USA). But, alas! It won’t give anyone superpowers since it has been identified as a meteorite.

NASA scientists said that the meteorite weighs 1,000 pounds (453 kgs). They also believe it broke up into several pieces before hitting the ground. NASA has released a map showing the possible landing areas of the meteorite pieces.

How was the meteorite tracked?

Residents in the area reported hearing a loud bang that sounded like an explosion last week. They reported this to several law enforcement agencies. Two aircraft also reported a meteorite on Houston city's western side.

Photos of the meteor travelling across the sky were also captured in the area. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) weather radar also detected the debris from the meteorite. This helped experts identify the locations where the pieces fell. NASA said that the meteorite caused no damage (excellent news!).

Can meteorites cause damage?

Meteors frequently travel through the Earth's atmosphere, but they rarely harm humans. These are space rocks that get hot as they enter the Earth's atmosphere due to friction with the air. The heat causes the meteors to completely burn up, so they mostly don’t reach the surface.

A meteorite is a name given to a space rock that reaches the Earth's surface. NASA says that less than 5% of the original rock survives when it reaches the ground. But, some meteor strikes in the past have caused a lot of damage (dinosaurs went extinct due to one such strike).

Some scientists believe that the meteorite impact that killed dinosaurs helped microbial life. In fact, they may have helped to create the conditions for human life to emerge on Earth billions of years ago. This shows that everything has a good and bad effect.