Officials have confirmed that a space rock entered Earth's atmosphere on February 15, flying over McAllen and eventually exploding, frightening some residents in the area.
The event was reported by several individuals that heard the loud bang and later confirmed by NASA as well as the American Meteor Society. The space rock entered Earth's atmosphere over McAllen, Texas, at around 6 pm EST, and according to NASA experts, the space rock would have been approximately two feet in diameter and weighed about 1,000 pounds. The American Meteor Society states on its website listing the event that the meteor traveled toward the Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo.
Due to the size of the meteorite, NASA expects that there won't be any impact crater as the space rock would have broken apart throughout its entry. Additionally, the friction of Earth's atmosphere heats up the rock, which can result, and in this case, it did, the meteorite exploding. While there likely isn't an impact crater, NASA has confirmed that some smaller meteorite fragments did reach the ground from this event.
"The meteor seen in the skies above McAllen is a reminder of the need for NASA and other organizations to increase our understanding and protection of Earth, to combine scientific and engineering expertise to advance human space exploration, to integrate terrestrial and planetary research for furthering our understanding of the solar system, and to promote successful space missions by mitigating risk," NASA said.
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