Amateur astronomers march to Vellore ‘meteorite’ site

Sivasubramanyam A, co-founder of Chennai Astronomy Club and a final year engineering student, was in Vellore when the meteor struck, but he admits that he did not realise what happened at that time. “We were in Vellore for observation when it happened but we didn’t notice anything. Once we knew that there was a meteor and we wanted to go see it,  the police had cordoned off the area since a person was killed by the meteor. The probability of a meteorite hitting a person is one in a million,” says Sivasubramanyam. 

“A lot of people have been asking us if this is a regular affair. Yeah, meteorites falling and meteor showers are common but most of the meteors get burnt while entering the earth’s atmosphere. In fact, an earthquake is more common than a meteorite striking the ground. The meteorite falling in Vellore seems like a freak incident,” said K Sakthivel, Professor of Physics, Adithya Institute of Technology and President of Coimbatore Astronomy Club. 

“But what I found very surprising is that a person died because of the impact. Meteors do fall but mostly in isolated places. So far, there have only been reports of dogs and other animals being killed by meteorites. This is the first time there has been a human casualty,” he added. 

A day after bus driver Kamaraj was killed and three others were injured in the explosion that took place on the campus of an engineering college in Vellore, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa declared that it was a meteorite fall that caused the mishap. 

Despite that, quite a few experts are unconvinced that it was a meteor that caused the explosion. “They have cordoned off the area, not allowing us in,” said a city-based scientist who did not want to be named. He added that there was little knowledge about meteorite falls and the resultant damage that better scientific investigation is needed. 

Meanwhile, Vellore collector Nandagopal, who revisited the site on Monday, said a four-member team headed by scientist Balamurugan was conducting investigations and his  report would reveal the  truth. 

He said apart from the solatium granted by the state government, the  Rs. 2 lakh relief announced by the college management would also be handed over soon to the victim’s kin.