The Hoba meteorite, estimated at 66 tons, left no crater when it fell to Earth

Re:The Hoba meteorite, estimated at 66 tons, left no crater ... by ballenf on Saturday November 10, 2018 @10:49AM (#18421789)

A 66 ton chunk of iron falling on earth probably before any iron had been smelted by humans.

Now think about the equivalent meteorite falling today: what substance could it be comprised of that we haven't synthesized or seen yet? Maybe an exotic isotope of an otherwise common element which demonstrates some exotic properties. Superconducting at room temperature maybe.

Amazing to think about what asteroids could be out there headed our way (and not big enough to destroy everything).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Hoba meteorite, estimated at 66 tons, left no crater ... by twic on Saturday November 10, 2018 @06:10PM (#18424019)

There's a Stephen Baxter novel from a quarter of a century ago [1] in which an antimatter meteorite falls to earth, and via undisclosed handwaving, ends up as a deposit in the Antarctic, which is subsequently mined to provide a source of power for various steampunk shenanigans:

https://www.thebooksmugglers.com/2010/04/steampunk-week-book...

[1] yikes

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Hoba meteorite, estimated at 66 tons, left no crater ... by rabidrat on Saturday November 10, 2018 @02:23PM (#18422996)

Vibranium would be pretty cool.

[ Parent | on HN ]