Meteor Rumbles Over Houston, as Six-Pound Fragment Crashes Into a Texas Home (cbsnews.com) 45
"It is the talk of the town today — the loud boom, the flash of light in the sky experienced by a lot of folks across the Houston area this afternoon," says a local Texas newscaster. "And then there was this — a home in northwest Harris county hit by something that crashed through their roof."
Travelling at very high speed, the six-pound meteorite crashed through their roof and through their attic, crashing again through the ceiling of the floor below. It then bounced off the floor, hit the ceiling again — and then fell onto the bed.
CBS News reports: NASA said in a social media post that the meteor became visible at 49 miles above Stagecoach, northwest of Houston, at 4:40 p.m. local time. The meteor moved southeast at 35,000 miles per hour, breaking apart 29 miles above Bammel, just west of Cypress Station, NASA said. "The fragmentation of the meteor — which weighed about a ton with a diameter of 3 feet — created a pressure wave that caused booms heard by some in the area," NASA said in the post. Across the Houston area, residents described hearing a low, rumbling sound that many compared to thunder, even though the skies were clear, according to CBS affiliate KHOU.
Earlier this week, an asteroid weighing about 7 tons and traveling at 45,000 mph traveled over multiple states. And last June, a bright meteor was seen across the southeastern U.S. and exploded over Georgia, creating similar booms heard by residents in the area.
Travelling at very high speed, the six-pound meteorite crashed through their roof and through their attic, crashing again through the ceiling of the floor below. It then bounced off the floor, hit the ceiling again — and then fell onto the bed.
CBS News reports: NASA said in a social media post that the meteor became visible at 49 miles above Stagecoach, northwest of Houston, at 4:40 p.m. local time. The meteor moved southeast at 35,000 miles per hour, breaking apart 29 miles above Bammel, just west of Cypress Station, NASA said. "The fragmentation of the meteor — which weighed about a ton with a diameter of 3 feet — created a pressure wave that caused booms heard by some in the area," NASA said in the post. Across the Houston area, residents described hearing a low, rumbling sound that many compared to thunder, even though the skies were clear, according to CBS affiliate KHOU.
Earlier this week, an asteroid weighing about 7 tons and traveling at 45,000 mph traveled over multiple states. And last June, a bright meteor was seen across the southeastern U.S. and exploded over Georgia, creating similar booms heard by residents in the area.
Cover story (Score:2, Insightful)
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Though it that case I'd have expected this to happen above Florida.
Even cheaper than drones. More to come? (Score:2)
That was the joke I was looking for, so mod parent funny. (But I never get a mod point to bestow, for unknown reasons, though I also know I would be hard pressed to care less about supporting Slashdot moderation as it exists today.) I also like your rationale.
Less funny would be to speculate the natural extension of the YOB's strategy to aliens with the technology to do that sort of thing on a large scale. Or to put it as math joke, imagine that tomorrow it happens twice. Then four times on the second day.
Seems obvious to me (Score:1)
God's trying to kill Ken Paxton.
Re: (Score:2)
Already did... we will never see all the files. Nobody seems to realize the files are not comprehensive there is likely far more data they don't even have in the files. For example, tons of video cameras including special hidden ones but no recordings; except whatever Israel, Russia, or the NSA are holding onto (I'd bet Israel has the most, Russia second.) Why Israel? the guy had a former PM as a "client" and you don't mess with a head of a top spy network and not become their bitch.
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God wouldn't have missed.
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You're right - I guess it was more of a "shot across the bow".
Jackpot!!! (Score:4, Interesting)
Being a hammer stone and fully witnessed and probably recorded these homeowners are now multimillionaires. With the meteorite worth possibly hundreds of millions. Crazy.
Re: Jackpot!!! (Score:3)
Re: (Score:1)
Reminds me... (Score:2)
Reminds me of the television series Futurama joke...
https://www.reddit.com/r/futur... [reddit.com]
--Josh K.
Bad luck or? (Score:1)
Re:Bad luck or? (Score:4, Informative)
The US is about 2% of the Earth's total land mass. That's a huge chunk of land. Of course there will be multiple large meteor sightings over the US in any given year. Meteors in the 3 to 6 ton range are estimated to enter Earth's atmosphere 2 to 3 times a month. That number is probably larger given the area of oceans where eyeballs are not present. This was a small one (1 ton according to article). Meteors in that range probably happen much more often.
Missing from the summary (Score:5, Informative)
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An Uber Eats driver was not delivering McDonald's to the house at the time
No famous or rich people lived there
Nobody was sitting on the couch
Protestors did not form outside the house to raise awareness of the dangers of space exploration.
Meteor shower? (Score:4, Insightful)
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I've been wondering this. WTF is going on? 2 nights ago, when it was clear, I was out back with a fire. I live in town and rarely can see shooting stars from here.
That night, we saw no fewer than 5, not even really watching. They weren't particularly fast, had 1-2 hands of trail in the sky, and all went from east->west across the horizon.
It's not supposed to be a meteor shower, at least based on conventional meteor showers (persids, etc.) but I have never seen this many before in such a short period of t
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There have been several "fireballs" over various parts of the world, just in the past couple of weeks. Some wandering asteroid came apart?
There was a report of a fairly good sized comet falling into the sun a brief time ago. Wonder if, as it vaporized, it didn't blow some rockier chunks outward in its wake?
Tell God he missed (Score:1)
It was supposed to hit Mar-a-lago
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You misspelled 'Mierda Lago".
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I don't know what the fuck a cusco is I just know that we can't possibly have a legitimate strategic interest in the Strait of Hormuz because it's on the other side of the planet and the amount of oil we get through it when Iran isn't locking it down is a baby fart compared to what we *export.* Foreign oil dependence is entirely manufactured as a purpose-built mechanism to justify petrodollar enforcement.
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I don't give a fuck what goes through the Strait. It rightfully belongs to Iran and there is nothing we actually need it for to run our economy. The only reason we have any type of interest in it is to defend the existence of the petrodollar, which is the stupidest mistake this species ever made.
sounds like (Score:2)
Not a Meteor (Score:3)
Started as a Meteor. (Score:2)
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Started as a Meteor though, correct? Both can be true. Unless you want to retroactively call it a meteorite before it hit the ground, which is silly.
No, it's not both. It either strikes the Earth or it doesn't.
Re: Started as a Meteor. (Score:3)
A meteor is a piece of naturally occurring space debris that has entered and is traveling through earth's atmosphere. A meteorite is a portion of a meteor that has survived the trip through the atmosphere and landed on the ground.
The thing that "rumbled over Houston" was most definitely a meteor. The fragment that landed on the bed was a meteorite. The article and summary use the terms correctly throughout.
All meteorites start out as meteors, but not all meteors lead to meteorites.
It mi
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It landed on a bed.
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property rights? (Score:2)
So do the homeowners own that meteorite now then? What's the law with regards to things that fall from space onto one's property (or person)?
Wait for it! (Score:2, Funny)
I'm waiting to hear Trump suggest that there must be a way to direct meteors to strike Iran. I'm sure he's talking to Paula White-Cain about asking God to do him a solid. He's probably also hedging his bets, asking NASA and SpaceX if there's some way to make meteors fall on Tehran.
Anyone who thinks I'm exaggerating need look no farther than el Presidipshit suggesting bleach injections to fight Covid.
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Trump's religiosity is a problem, particularly if it's genuine. However, religiosity is widespread in the U.S., and the damage it does is limited, so you can't conclude that it always leads to bad results.
The bleach claims have long been established as a hoax created by selective editing and malicious promotion. Neither believing that hoax, nor promoting it regardless of belief, is wise behavior.
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Regarding your second point, thanks for the correction.
Regarding your first point, I would argue that religiosity is possibly a prime mover behind, and is definitely a major and ongoing support for, the US shitstorm currently fucking over the entire world. I think it would be difficult to overestimate the huge role that religious beliefs and justifications have played in bringing Trump to power and keeping him there.
Recommended reading on groupthink, which in my mind definitely encompasses most religiosity:
What the insurance refuse to fix anything (Score:2)
And the homeowners insurance policy will claim it was an act of god and try to weasel out of paying for anything.