Controversy Erupts Over Supposed Meteorite
That Fell in Argentina
Buenos Aires – A “fireball” that streaked
across the sky surprising residents of the
Argentine provinces of Mendoza and La Pampa
has sparked controversy after several
scientists said that it was Russian space
junk while others are insisting that it was
a meteorite.
“It was part of the Russian Progress M-67
spacecraft, which on Sunday detached from
the International Space Station and returned
to disintegrate in the atmosphere,” said
astronomer Jaime Garcia, the scientific
director of Argentina’s Instituto Copernico.
Progress M-67 was launched on July 24 from
the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan
carrying more than 2.5 tons of vitally
needed cargo for the ISS crew, but it was
undocked from the space platform on Sept. 21
upon the order of the earth-based command
center.
“After being separated, the next step is to
de-orbit it, or to let it loose so that it
drifts and is attracted by the gravitational
(pull) of the earth and ends up crashing
into what is known as the spacecraft
graveyard ... in the South Pacific,” Garcia
said.
The scientist emphasized that his hypothesis
is based on consultations he held with
several different research centers in
Argentina.
However, astronomer Beatriz Garcia denied
that it was space trash and said that it was
a meteorite due to the “bluish-white color
that it left in sight.”
“It’s not space junk. Besides, because of
the shock wave it produced on earth, it’s a
meteorite,” insisted Dr. Garcia, who is a
member of the team of experts with the
Pierre Auger observatory, the world’s
largest cosmic ray detector, located in the
province of Mendoza.
Residents of the provinces of Mendoza and La
Pampa said that the fireball that suddenly
appeared overhead on Sunday also included a
huge, though presumably silent, explosion
that illuminated the sky. EFE |
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