Officials in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley are investigating whether or not a meteor smashed into the bottom in Hidalgo County Wednesday afternoon after fielding calls about falling stars, loud booms and shaking partitions.
Cesar Torres, Chief of Police in Mission, stated 911 dispatchers took calls from panicked residents at about 5:28 p.m. who reported listening to what seemed like explosions. Other callers stated the booms left the partitions of their properties shaking.
The National Weather Service in Brownsville reported that their Geostationary Lightning Mapper, a satellite tv for pc that measures lightning, recorded flashes of mild in the ambiance that have been brilliant sufficient to be detected by their satellites at about 5:23 p.m. although there have been no storms in the world on the time.
Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra stated throughout a news convention Alton Police Chief Jonathan Flores advised him he was out for a jog when a loud increase practically brought on him to lose his footing. Guerra stated residents advised his deputies they noticed a meteor or falling star and that after they misplaced sight of it they heard a loud increase that stated seemed like a clap of thunder.
Guerra added that Houston Air Traffic Control received reports from two aircraft pilots, one flying at 34,000 toes, who reported seeing a meteor in the sky west of the McAllen-Mission space.
Junior Sanchez shared footage of his driveway the place the increase could be heard and moments later the digicam shakes.
Other callers additionally reported seeing a meteor streak throughout the sky, but it surely’s unclear if it made it to the bottom as a result of no influence web site has been positioned.
“Where the exact point of impact is unknown,” stated Guerra. “No reports of any damage in that area have been received.”
Officials pressured they haven’t discovered any web site confirming the meteor struck the bottom. Officials searched the world by air Wednesday afternoon and located no smoke, hearth, explosions or broken property associated to a meteor.
U.S. Rep. Monica de la Cruz (R-TX, fifteenth District) stated if the meteor made it to the bottom they consider it could have come down about 10 miles west of Mission. De la Cruz stated she anticipated to obtain a briefing from NASA someday Thursday.
“We have meteorites that have hit all over,” de la Cruz stated. “NASA scientists estimate that every single day our planet is hit by over 100 tons of dust and particles from space. So again, while this is not a normal situation here in the Rio Grande Valley, it does occur.”
Should anybody discover a crater or an object they consider to be a meteorite, Guerra cautioned in opposition to touching it with naked arms out of concern the oils from human pores and skin might contaminate the floor of the item and promote rusting. NASA has tips, here, on what to do if you find a meteorite.
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