A moment of Lovecraftian déjà vu

[j d worthington]

For those who have read "The Colour out of Space", this particular article may cause such a moment. For the others... well, it's still a somewhat bizarre moment, I'd think. At any rate... has anyone else heard anything more about this? This is one I'd like to keep an eye on....

Mystery illness strikes after meteorite hits Peruvian village - Yahoo! News

Title: "Mystery illness strikes after meteorite hits Peruvian village", from AFP, datelined Mon., Sept. 17, 2007....

 

[Talysia]

Here's what the BBC have to say on the subject:

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Scores ill in Peru 'meteor crash'

I haven't read The Colour out of Space, but this intrigues me nonetheless. I don't think there's that much difference between the articles, but a different viewpoint is sometimes helpful.

 

[Pyan]

Scary resemblance- if it had happened in New Hampshire, I'd be worried.....

 

[j d worthington]

Scary resemblance- if it had happened in New Hampshire, I'd be worried.....

Eh? You mean Massachusetts? Or am I missing a reference here somewhere?

And thanks for bringing that in, Talysia... I'm just wondering how much further coverage this is going to get, as I'd really like to hear what happens from this point on....

 

[Dave]

Supposed Meteorite Linked to Mass Illness

I just heard this on the radio and wondered what might have caused it – mass hysteria, dust raised from the impact, or is it, a failure of an alien FTL drive system??

The Associated Press: Peru Links Illness to Supposed Meteorite

Peru Links Illness to Supposed Meteorite
1 hour ago

LIMA, Peru (AP) — A supposed meteorite that crashed in southern Peru over the weekend has caused hundreds of people to suffer headaches, nausea and respiratory problems, a health official said Tuesday.

Local media have reported eyewitness accounts of a fiery ball falling from the sky and smashing into the desolate Andean plain near the Bolivian border Saturday morning. Officials have said it was a meteorite.

Jorge Lopez, director of the health department in the southern state of Puno, told The Associated Press that 200 people have been sickened by "toxic" fumes emanating from the resulting crater, which is some 66 feet wide and 16 feet deep.

"This is caused by the gas they have inhaled after the crash," Lopez said. He added that some 1,500 people live nearby.

But meteor expert Ursula Marvin, cast doubt on that theory, saying, "It wouldn't be the meteorite itself, but the dust it raises."

A meteorite "wouldn't get much gas out of the earth," said Marvin, who has studied the objects since 1961 at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Massachusetts. "It's a very superficial thing."

Three geologists from Peru's Geophysics Institute are expected to present a report on the incident on Thursday.

Hernando Tavera, a geophysicist at the institute, said similar cases were reported in 2002 and 2004 elsewhere in southern Peru but never confirmed as meteorites.

It came from outer space and it stinks - On Deadline - USATODAY.com
Peruvian 'meteorite' strike provokes noxious gas attack | The Register
AFP: Peru meteorite strike leaves 200 ill
Peruvians get sick from meteor crater | WORLD | NEWS | tvnz.co.nz
Villagers fall ill after fireball hits Peru - Space News - MSNBC.com

It was probably spacejunk:

Space Weather News for Sept. 14, 2007
SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids

On Sept. 13th a remarkable fireball split the skies over New Mexico. Witnesses say it "turned night into day" and reminded them of a full Moon hurtling across the sky. In fact, it was brighter than a full Moon. At least two all-sky cameras captured the event while one amateur astronomer recorded radio echoes from the fireball's ionized trail. What was it? Probably a piece of reentering space junk, but this is not yet certain. Visit SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids for updates plus sights and sounds of the Great New Mexico Fireball.

 

[woodsman]

Re: Supposed Meteorite Linked to Mass Illness

Well, my mother alwasy said: "Be carefull where you throw your rubbish".

I guess some people never learn.

 

[Talysia]

Re: Supposed Meteorite Linked to Mass Illness

I wondered about what this could be on the other thread, so it's interesting to see what kind of facts are emerging out of this story.

 

[dustinzgirl]

Re: Supposed Meteorite Linked to Mass Illness

Sorry all, but I just can't help myself.

 

[Creator]

Re: Supposed Meteorite Linked to Mass Illness

Could it be an alien virus?

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Re: Supposed Meteorite Linked to Mass Illness

No, The Funk Out of Space!

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

So would I, but, priorities being what they are in our troubled world, I expect Lindsey Lohan's latest bender to eclipse any follow-up to this story.

 

[Pyan]

Eh? You mean Massachusetts? Or am I missing a reference here somewhere?

No, it's me, jd - mixing up New England and New Hampshire.......Duhh!

 

[Dave]

Re: Supposed Meteorite Linked to Mass Illness

More seriously though, if it is man-made space junk (which is likely) and these people have a real somatic illness (as opposed to some psychoneurosis) - and the TV reports I watched made them seem completely genuine, then could it not be radiation poisoning - don't these satellites all have Plutonium power cells?

That, or some now forgotten secret government virus experiment (but getting into the realms of government conspiracy theories again then.)

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Re: Supposed Meteorite Linked to Mass Illness

More seriously though, if it is man-made space junk (which is likely) and these people have a real somatic illness (as opposed to some psychoneurosis) - and the TV reports I watched made them seem completely genuine, then could it not be radiation poisoning - don't these satellites all have Plutonium power cells?

That, or some now forgotten secret government virus experiment (but getting into the realms of government conspiracy theories again then.)

Yes, or, more prosaically, the burning of synthetic materials during re-entry induced the effects that were reported by the press.

 

[j d worthington]

So would I, but, priorities being what they are in our troubled world, I expect Lindsey Lohan's latest bender to eclipse any follow-up to this story.

Ah, but you're forgetting the tabloid paranoia aspects of this story... "the menace that came from outer space"!

At any rate, there has been a follow-up:

Scientists Doubt Meteorite Sickened Peruvians - Yahoo! News

Still, this one may be worth keeping an eye out for....

 

[Dave]

I just read the same report here: FOXNews.com - Experts: 'Meteor' Gases Likely Caused by Geyser - Science News | Current Articles

I now don't think that the New Mexico Fireball and this Peruvian crater are linked, even though they both appeared on the same day. The only thing is that strenuous denials that it came from outer space, usually have the opposite effect to that which they want.

 

[Dave]

If anyone is still interested, I just received this:

PERUVIAN METEORITE UPDATE: Astronomers studying the Peruvian meteorite fall of Sept. 15, 2007, have analyzed infrasound records of the fireball's descent through Earth's atmosphere and estimated the impactor's kinetic energy: about 0.03 kton of TNT. So far more than 30 kg of the meteorite have been recovered by Peruvian authorities, but much more remains--indeed, says one researcher, there could be a "multi-ton monster" hiding at the bottom of the meteorite's curiously watery crater. Check SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids for more information.