Cuba: a meteorite fell and shaken the western end of the island – 02/02/2019

A meteorite fell this Friday and has disintegrated into many fragments of different sizes and has spread in almost every municipality in the province of Pinar del Rio, the most westerly province. from Cuba, confirmed the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (Citma) of the island.

The astronomical event, which caused no human damage, but splinters of glbad in the buildings, was observed by seven weather stations in Pinar del Río for ten o'clock noon.

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According to a statement by Citma, it was visible as a fireball that crisscrossed the sky, followed by a trail of condensation and a loud explosion.

The fall of the meteorite has occurred in the municipality of Viñales and, according to the badysis carried out by specialists from Citma, the Institute of Geophysics and Astronomy and from the. other scientific institutions, it is estimated that it could be lithite or stony type, which contains iron, nickel and magnesium silicate.

When they disintegrated into many fragments, the stones spread in the cities of Los Jazmines, Dos Hermanas, El Guajaní, near the tourist town of Viñales and El Palmarito, where the largest, most of the time, was found. about 11 centimeters long. a small crater in the ground.

Researchers have collected samples that will be subjected to chemical testing to obtain more precision on this unusual phenomenon, which is not the first time that it occurs on the island. .

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At the same time of the observation at Pinar del Río, a similar incident was reported to have occurred at Matanzas (located 100 km east of Havana) where eye-witnesses observed an incandescent sphere of approximate diameter. a meter falling into the sea very close to the sea. South coast of the bay, said the Citma.

But a visit of experts in this region has not shown any signs of the phenomenon on the continent.

Shortly after the event, many residents of Pinar del Río began to comment on what was happening on social networks and to publish videos and photographs of the black and gray stones that hit areas such as the "Mural of Prehistory", in the picturesque valley of Viñales. .

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Some witnesses said they saw "a fireball" in the sky, others said they felt the walls tremble and heard a loud roar.

Cuba is set against the backdrop of the fall of six other meteorites, three of which were reported in 1938, 1974 and 1994, in the western cities of Artemisa and Bacuranao, and in Santa Isabel de las Lajas, in the central province of Cienfuegos. according to specialist Efrén. Jaime Salgado, quoted by the Granma State newspaper.

Source: EFE