Sylacauga (meteorite)
It has been suggested that Ann Elizabeth Fowler Hodges be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2025. |
| Sylacauga | |
|---|---|
| File:2024-10-21 - Tuscaloosa, AL, USA - Hodges (Sylacauga) Meteorite (cropped).jpg The Hodges fragment of the meteorite at the Alabama Museum of Natural History in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. | |
| Type | Chondrite |
| Class | Ordinary chondrite |
| Group | H4 |
| Country | United States |
| Region | Alabama |
| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Observed fall | Yes |
| Fall date | 18:46 UT on November 30, 1954 |
| TKW | 5.54 kg |
| Strewn field | Yes |
| Error creating thumbnail: File missing [[Commons:Category:Lua error in Module:Wikidata at line 448: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |Related media on Wikimedia Commons]] | |
_Meteorite_(cropped).jpg){kind=link}
The Sylacauga meteorite fell on November 30, 1954, at 12:46 p.m. local time (18:46 UT)[1] in Oak Grove, Alabama, near Sylacauga, in the United States. It is also commonly called the Hodges meteorite because a fragment of it struck Ann Elizabeth Fowler Hodges (1920–1972).[2]
Incident
[edit | edit source]Impact
[edit | edit source]The grapefruit-sized fragment crashed through the roof of a farm house, bounced off a large wooden console radio, and hit Hodges while she napped on a couch.[3] The 34-year-old woman was badly bruised on one side of her body, but was able to walk and able to take photos showing the fresh wound.[4]
Fireball
[edit | edit source]The meteor made a fireball visible from three American states as it streaked through the atmosphere, even though it fell early in the afternoon.[5] There were also indications of an air blast, as witnesses described hearing "explosions or loud booms".[6]
Following events
[edit | edit source]The meteorite was confiscated by the Sylacauga police chief, who then turned it over to the United States Air Force.[7] Both the Hodgeses and their landlord, Bertie Guy, claimed ownership of the rock, Guy's claim being that it had fallen on her property.[7] The Hodgeses and Guy settled, with the Hodgeses paying $500 for the rock.[7] However, by the time it was returned to the Hodgeses, over a year later, public attention had diminished, and they were unable to then find a buyer.[7][8]
Ann Hodges was uncomfortable with the public attention and the stress of the dispute over ownership of the meteorite.[9] The Hodgeses donated it to the Alabama Museum of Natural History in 1956.[7]
The day after the fall, local farmer Julius McKinney came upon the second-largest fragment from the same meteorite.[10] An Indianapolis-based lawyer bought it for the Smithsonian Institution.[10] The McKinney family was able to use the money to buy a car and a house.[10]
Other instances of people being hit by meteorites
[edit | edit source]The earliest claim of a person being hit by a meteorite comes from 1677 in a manuscript published at Tortona, Italy, which tells of a Milanese friar who was killed by one, although its veracity is unknown.[11] The Tunguska event in 1908 is reported to have caused three casualties.[12] In 1992, a small meteorite fragment (3g) hit a young Ugandan boy in Mbale;[13] it had been slowed by a tree and caused no injury.
On the night of October 3, 2021, a meteorite fell through the roof of a house in Golden, British Columbia, landing on a sleeping woman's pillow, but without harming her.[14]
Fragments
[edit | edit source]Upon the entry into the atmosphere, the Sylacauga meteorite fragmented into at least three pieces:[1]
- The Hodges fragment (3.86 kilograms (8.5 lb)) – Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.); struck Ann Elizabeth Hodges.[15]
- The McKinney fragment (1.68 kilograms (3.7 lb)) – Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.); was found the next day December 1, 1954, by Julius Kempis McKinney.[10]
- A third fragment is believed to have struck the Earth somewhere near Childersburg (a few km northwest of Oak Grove).
Classification
[edit | edit source]The Sylacauga meteorite is classified as an ordinary chondrite of H4 group.[2]
Orbit
[edit | edit source]The meteoroid came in on the sunward side of the Earth, so when it hit, it had passed the perihelion and was traveling outward from the Sun. Its orbit may have been similar to that of 1685 Toro.[1]
See also
[edit | edit source]- Auckland (meteorite), which crashed through a house in New Zealand
References
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- ^ a b Meteoritical Bulletin Database: Sylacauga
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