For most of recorded history, no one had ever been hit by a meteorite. This was a useful factoid for us scientists when speaking to the public. It reaffirmed both probability-- how little of the Earth's surface area we cover-- and safety concerns.
Then, in 1823 it all changed. A horse was hit. Life had been damaged from space for the first time on record.
After that, reports of human impact began pouring in. Well, if you count 14 dubious claims as a flood. Why, just this year, another a person was hit, and just for irony, I take this story from a website that offers 'Matching injury victims with winning attorneys'. Boom, ow!!
Stealing the excellent plot of 'meteorite hits versus time' from the International Meteorite Collectors Association (IMCA):
Hits by Quarter Century | ||
| 2000 -- | 12 | ************* |
| 1975-1999 | 31 | ******************************* |
| 1950-1974 | 29 | ***************************** |
| 1925-1949 | 15 | ************** |
| 1900-1924 | 10 | ********** |
| 1875-1899 | 8 | ******** |
| 1850-1874 | 6 | ****** |
| 1825-1849 | 3 | *** |
| 1800-1824 | 4 | **** |
| 1775-1799 | 2 | ** |
| pre-1775 | 1 | * |
So are these higher impact rates due to our population growing, producing a higher density of people per square mile such that meteorite strikes are more likely? Is it just a brief statistical fluctuation? Or perhaps it's... enemy action? You decide!
Me, I'll just be waiting outside with my titanium catcher's mitt. Just in case I get lucky.
Alex, The Daytime Astronomer, Tues&Fri here, via RSS feed, and twitter @skydayRead about my own private space venture in The Satellite Diaries
Comments