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Norwegian skydiver nearly struck by meteorite

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Re: Norwegian skydiver nearly struck by meteorite

#11

Post by JohnBooty »

cjensen wrote: post #4
jon_black wrote: post #3

Is it me or does it look like the "meteorite" is moving quite slow. Shouldn't it be moving so fast that you'd need a high speed camera to see it in that detail? Also...his parachute is always above him, maybe it fell out of that.

Yep; so slow that there is no motion blur. Odds of a meteor are absurdly really low. Much more likely this is a fake or a rock packed in his chute.

My understanding is that chutes are packed with great care since they're the only thing stopping one from going "splat!"

I could believe that it's an intentional fake, maybe, but unintentionally packing a good-sized rock seems unlikely... although, I guess it's not as improbable as a meteor sailing past your head while you're skydiving!

Re: Norwegian skydiver nearly struck by meteorite

#12

Post by simias »

jon_black wrote: post #3

Is it me or does it look like the "meteorite" is moving quite slow. Shouldn't it be moving so fast that you'd need a high speed camera to see it in that detail? Also...his parachute is always above him, maybe it fell out of that.

Yeah, Occam's razor tells me that it's much more likely that a stone got stuck somewhere in their skydiving apparatus than having a meteorite fly right past you while you're skydiving.

Maybe I'm underestimating the quantity of meteorites falling on the earth but since the newspapers aren't exactly filled with news of people getting killed by falling rocks I'm not yet ready to believe that was a meteorite.

Re: Norwegian skydiver nearly struck by meteorite

#13

Post by binarymax »

I did some quick googling and found this interesting research from Oberlin, with a history of meteorite injuries and deaths:

     1420 BC  Israel - Fatal meteorite impact.
     588 AD China - 10 deaths; siege towers destroyed.
     1321-68 China - People & animals killed; homes ruined.
     1369  Ho-t'ao China - Soldier injured; fire.
     02/03/1490 Shansi, China - 10,000 deaths.
     09/14/1511 Cremona, Italy - Monk, birds, & sheep killed.
     1633-64 Milono, Italy - Monk killed.
     1639 China - Tens of deaths; 10 homes destroyed.
     1647-54 Indian Ocean - 2 sailors killed aboard a ship.
     07/24/1790 France - Farmer killed; home destroyed; cattle killed.
     01/16/1825 Oriang, India - Man killed; woman injured.
     02/27/1827 Mhow, India - Man injured.
     12/11/1836 Macao, Brazil - Oxen killed; homes damaged.
     07/14/1847 Braunau, Bohemia - Home struck by 371 lb meteorite.
     01/23/1870 Nedagolla, India - Man stunned by meteorite.
     06/30/1874 Ming Tung li, China - Cottage crushed, child killed.
     01/14/1879 Newtown, Indiana, USA - Man killed in bed.
     01/31/1879 Dun-Lepoelier, France - Farmer killed by meteorite.
     11/19/1881 Grossliebenthal, Russia - Man injured.
     03/11/1897 West Virginia, USA - Walls pierced, horse killed, man injured.
     09/05/1907 Weng-li, China - Whole family crushed to death.
     06/30/1908 Tunguska, Siberia - Fire, 2 people killed. (referenced throughout paper)
     04/28/1927 Aba, Japan - Girl injured by meteorite.
     12/08/1929 Zvezvan, Yugoslavia - Meteorite hit bridal party, 1 killed.
     05/16/1946 Santa Ana, Mexico - Houses destroyed, 28 injured.
     11/30/1946 Colford, UK - Telephones knocked out, boy injured.
     11/28/1954 Sylacauga, Alabama, USA - 4 kg meteorite struck home, lady injured.
     08/14/1992 Mbole, Uganda - 48 stones fell, roofs damaged, boy injured.
http://www.oberlin.edu/faculty/bsimonso/group9.htm

Re: Norwegian skydiver nearly struck by meteorite

#14

Post by raimondious »

binarymax wrote: post #13

I did some quick googling and found this interesting research from Oberlin, with a history of meteorite injuries and deaths: 1420 BC Israel - Fatal meteorite impact. 588 AD China - 10 deaths; siege towers destroyed. 1321-68 China - People & animals killed; homes ruined. 1369 Ho-t'ao China - Soldier injured; fire. 02/03/1490 Shansi, China - 10,000 deaths. 09/14/1511 Cremona, Italy - Monk, birds, & sheep killed. 1633-6…

Hey, I took that class in 2004!

Re: Norwegian skydiver nearly struck by meteorite

#16

Post by MrScruff »

cjensen wrote: post #4
jon_black wrote: post #3

Is it me or does it look like the "meteorite" is moving quite slow. Shouldn't it be moving so fast that you'd need a high speed camera to see it in that detail? Also...his parachute is always above him, maybe it fell out of that.

Yep; so slow that there is no motion blur. Odds of a meteor are absurdly really low. Much more likely this is a fake or a rock packed in his chute.

Motion blur is a function of distance travelled in screen space per frame and shutter duration, which can be very short for go pro type cameras in bright sunlight. So I wouldn't necessarily expect obvious motion blur.

Re: Norwegian skydiver nearly struck by meteorite

#18

Post by yan »

JohnBooty wrote: post #11
cjensen wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep; so slow that there is no motion blur. Odds of a meteor are absurdly really low. Much more likely this is a fake or a rock packed in his chute.

My understanding is that chutes are packed with great care since they're the only thing stopping one from going "splat!" I could believe that it's an intentional fake, maybe, but unintentionally packing a good-sized rock seems unlikely... although, I guess it's not as improbable as a meteor sailing past your head while you're skydiving!

It's probably not a fake or packed inside the chute, since he was under canopy for some time when this occurred. Low odds are not zero odds, but then again, it can be a clever April fools segment.

Also, chutes are not packed with great care. A main (the parachute you generally use) takes an experienced packer 5-10 minutes to fully pack and some people hurry through it to get on the next load. Outside of two things you need to get right (make sure the slider is up, make sure lines aren't over the fabric), it will open. Most of the packing is all about reducing the pack volume and slowing down the opening, not ensuring it.

A reserve however (the second chute sport jumpers wear), gets packed by a certified packer and gets re-inspected and repacked at least once every 180 days.

Re: Norwegian skydiver nearly struck by meteorite

#19

Post by ThomPete »

simias wrote: post #12
jon_black wrote: post #3

Is it me or does it look like the "meteorite" is moving quite slow. Shouldn't it be moving so fast that you'd need a high speed camera to see it in that detail? Also...his parachute is always above him, maybe it fell out of that.

Yeah, Occam's razor tells me that it's much more likely that a stone got stuck somewhere in their skydiving apparatus than having a meteorite fly right past you while you're skydiving. Maybe I'm underestimating the quantity of meteorites falling on the earth but since the newspapers aren't exactly filled with news of people getting killed by falling rocks I'm not yet ready to believe that was a meteorite.

I am not sure how you are using Occams razor there. It's well known that metorites falls to earth. Also see top comment right now.
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