So, according to The Jakarta Post, last week’s ‘meteorite’ (these skeptical ‘quotes’ are getting ridiculous) that smashed down in East Jakarta, through the roof of a house, was in fact a meteorite. But this time, a scientist from the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Lapan) has confirmed the original report to be true.
“The heat exposure showed that the object came with high speed and heat,” said Thomas Djamaluddin, an astronomy researcher.
According to another publication, the meteorite “was as big as a coconut.”
However, no meteorite remnants have been recovered from the scene. While it’s possible that the meteorite vaporized on impact, I strongly doubt there would be much of a house left after such an energetic blast.
Djamaluddin does point out that perhaps the meteorite had a “fragile structure,” a potential reason why there’s no fragments left. But that begs the question: If the meteorite was that fragile, could it really slam through the roof, destroy the second floor, explode, excavate a crater in the first floor and cause damage to two neighboring properties?
I’m not totally discounting the idea that this might have been a meteorite impact, but the evidence remains as sketchy as last week. So I’m sticking with my original thought that this “blast” was more likely terrestrial and not extraterrestrial in origin. But on the outside chance this was a meteorite, the neighborhood had a very lucky escape in that the space rock was big enough to cause significant property damage, yet small enough to stay contained.
Sources: The Jakarta Post, Antara News
