A plane on fire ?
Just after 6pm Friday 25th January, residents in the southern French city of Avignon rang the local police to report seeing "strange blue and green lights in the sky." Almost immediately Gendarmes and firefighters took to the roads to follow the lights, fearing that their source may be an aircraft on fire and about to crash. However it was quickly established that the blue and green trail of light was in fact coming from a meteorite.
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| ©Dirk Beauregard |
The celestial body in question eventually fell to earth just after 6.30pm, seven kilometres from Bourges in the centre of France. (Between Bourges and the village of Trouy). Gendarmes were quickly on the scene, when local residents reported hearing a loud explosion.
Experts say, what fell to earth was only "a small chunk of meteorite". The small souvenir from space, landed in a field several hundred metres from the nearest house. No one was injured and there was no damage to buildings. The only trace that the chunk of meteorite ever came down was the small hole left on impact.
At the scene of the impact one local resident said that if the whole meteorite had hit Bourges, the town might have been wiped off the face of the Earth. Who said life in Bourges wasn't exciting!
How long until you hear these in the radio:
"As of recent reports of increasing meteorite bombardment in past weeks all citizens are strongly advised to stay indoors. Safest is underground. If you have a cellar or bomb shelter remain there until you hear a radio announcement that the danger from the skies are over."
I wonder when armored cars will be preferred to prevent injury from 'micro'-meteorites.