Sylacauga (meteorite)


The Sylacauga meteorite fell on November 30, 1954, at 12:46 local time in Oak Grove, Alabama, near Sylacauga. It is commonly called the Hodges meteorite because a fragment of it struck Ann Elizabeth Fowler Hodges.

Importance

The Sylacauga meteorite is the first documented extraterrestrial object to have injured a human being. 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. The 34-year-old woman was badly bruised on one side of her body, but was able to walk. The event received worldwide publicity.
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. In 1992 a small meteorite fragment hit a young Ugandan boy in Mbale, but it had been slowed by a tree and caused no injury.

Fireball

The meteor made a fireball visible from three states as it streaked through the atmosphere, even though it fell early in the afternoon. There were also indications of an air blast, as witnesses described hearing "explosions or loud booms".

Following events

The meteorite was confiscated by the Sylacauga police chief who then turned it over to the United States Air Force. Both the Hodgeses and their landlord, Bertie Guy, claimed ownership of the rock, Guy's claim being that it had fallen on her property. There were offers of up to $5,000 for the meteorite. The Hodgeses and Bertie Guy settled, with the Hodgeses paying $500 for the rock. 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.
Ann Hodges was uncomfortable with the public attention and the stress of the dispute over ownership of the meteorite. The Hodgeses donated it to the Alabama Museum of Natural History in 1956.
The day after the fall, local farmer Julius McKinney came upon the second-largest fragment from the same meteorite. An Indianapolis-based lawyer purchased it for the Smithsonian Institution. The McKinney family was able to use the money to purchase a car and a house.

Fragments

Upon the entry into the atmosphere, the Sylacauga meteorite fragmented into at least 3 pieces:
  1. The Hodges fragment struck Ann Elizabeth Hodges.
  2. The McKinney fragment was found the next day December 1, 1954 by Julius Kempis McKinney, a farmer who sold the meteorite fragment he found to purchase a car and a house.
  3. A third fragment is believed to have impacted somewhere near Childersburg.

    Classification

The Sylacauga meteorite is classified as an ordinary chondrite of H4 group.

Orbit

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. Considering the orbit estimations, the best candidate as parent body is 1685 Toro.