Scientists doubt that the supposed meteorite strike that sickened some 200 residents of Peru over the weekend actually involved anything from space.

Based on reports of fumes emanating from the crater, some scientists actually suspect that the event could have been some kind of geyser-like explosion rather than a meteorite impact.

“Statistically, it’s far more likely to have come from below than from above,” said Don Yeomans, head of the Near Earth Object Program at NASA’S Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

The noxious fumes that have supposedly sickened curious locals who went to examine the crater would seem to indicate hydrothermal activity, such as a local gas explosion, because “meteorites don’t give off odors,” Yeomans told SPACE.com.

Skepticism warranted

Several times in recent history, reports of meteorite impacts have turned out to be untrue after scientific examination. Doubt in the scientific community was as rampant Wednesday as the speculations out of Peru.

“Many of the reported features of the crater (“boiling water,” sulphurous fumes, etc.) point to a geological mechanism of the crater formation,” wrote Benny Peiser, a social anthropologist at Liverpool John Moores University in England, in a daily newsletter that catalogues research and media coverage of space rock impacts and other threats to humanity.

“I would not be surprised if, after careful analysis,” he added, “the alleged meteorite impact reveals itself to be just another ‘meteorwrong.’”

It’s not impossible that the crater was left by a meteorite, Yeomans said, but if so, then the impact object most likely was small, based on the size of the crater.

It would also probably have been a metal meteorite, because those are the only kind of small meteorites that don’t burn up as they plummet through Earth’s atmosphere, he added. Small stony meteorites rarely make it to the surface.

A couple features of the event reports suggest there was a space rock involved, said geophysicist Larry Grossman of the University of Chicago.

The bright streak of light and loud bangs seen and heard by locals are consistent with a meteor streaking through Earth’s atmosphere, he said. Most meteors do burn up, never becoming meteorites (which is what they’re called if they reach the surface).

Because no one actually saw anything impact at the crater site, it’s hard to say whether a space rock was involved because they are often deceptive as to where they will land.

Many times, people swear a meteor landed nearby when in fact it was so far away that it dipped below the local horizon but never actually struck the ground.
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Scientists from San Andres University in La Paz said analysis of sand samples from the crater showed it could be a meteorite which was blasted to dust by the impact.

However, other meteor experts are unconvinced. Dr Caroline Smith of the Natural History Museum in London, said: “It’s the third incident like this in Peru in the last few years - and none have turned out to be meteorites.

“It’s far more likely to have a been caused by the explosion of gases that build up naturally under the ground.

“In that part of Peru, you might get a build up of methane or hydrogen sulphide, both of which have an eggy smell and which could cause health problems.”
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