Doubts About Meteorite-Induced Sickness

By Gregory Mone Posted 09.20.2007 at 9:44 am 2 Comments

A large meteorite supposedly fell from the sky over the weekend, excavating a 65-foot-wide crater in a remote area of the Andes. But whether the space rock really gave off fumes that caused hundreds of people to become ill is another issue. Some scientists are wondering whether it was a meteorite at all, or if, on the other hand, some kind of hydrothermal event produced the fumes.

Others speculated that the water collected in the crater may have boiled for up to ten minutes, and this could have emitted some vapors. One official reportedly experienced nose and throat irritation upon approaching the crater even though he was wearing a mask. According to the AP, though, doctors that visited the area uncovered no evidence of a stomach bug. Clearly, none of these Peruvians have seen Smallville. They should really be testing the locals for superpowers. Duh.—Gregory Mone

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2 Comments

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popsci

09/21/07 at 3:07 pm

After having read articles about this incident in the news, I must say I was disappointed in the reactions by some 'scientists' as quoted. Some doubted eyewitness stories of a meteorite and others doubted the illnesses. Unless those 'scientists' have actually collected samples from the site ( which I doubt many have ) they should with hold comment. You cannot study a case unless you have the evidence.

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popsci

09/21/07 at 3:20 pm

Jumping off the speculation wagon, would prefer some 'real' research and conclusions. And was wondering about quote - "Sometimes these things land hundreds of thousands of miles away from where [people] think they will land," Grossman said.
What, on Earth, can be hundreds of thousands of miles from anything? Hope this was a typo.