A small meteorite may have fallen in Molise on the evening of March 15.
This is the conclusion reached by researchers from Rete Prisma, coordinated by the National Institute of Astrophysics, after a series of calculations carried out over the last three days following the appearance of a fireball in the skies of central and southern Italy. fragment, According to estimates, it should have crashed near the town of Temennotte, in the municipality of Sant'Agapito, in the province of Isernia. Prism Network states that the data taken into consideration for the triangulation are those obtained from the Prisma camera in Capua and from two other cameras, belonging to the IMTN network in Tortoreto and the Caserta section of the Air Force Association.
prism network communications
"From the cross-referencing of data - we read on the Prisma Network website, First Network for the Systematic Surveillance of Meteors and the Atmosphere - it appears that the small celestial body entered the atmosphere at an altitude of approximately 80 km and continued for a total distance of 61 km, covered in 5.3 seconds at an inclination of 84°, a nearly vertical trajectory. The height and final velocity were 19,8 km and only 2,8 km/s, respectively, values that support the arrival on the ground of a meteorite with an estimated mass of approximately 1 kg (a meteorite of approximately 8 cm if the density is 3.5 g/cm3). Any smaller fragments, "which could have dimensions between 2 and 4 cm, would have fallen a few kilometers further south in an inaccessible and wooded area, therefore very difficult to recover."
SEND COMMUNICATIONS TO prisma_po@inaf.it.
The Prisma Network recommends that anyone who finds a suspicious stone in the indicated area, "covered with a dark patina and with rounded edges," report it by sending a photo to prisma_po@inaf.it.
Furthermore, before collecting the fragment, it is recommended to photograph the meteorite and map the spot; then, as stated on the website, "collect the meteorite using a sheet of paper, wrap it in a cotton cloth, place it in a clean glass jar, insert the jar into another hermetically sealed jar with a 'humidity absorber'." Researchers from the Prisma project are participating in the project.National Institute of Astrophysics (Inaf) and Universities, Astronomical Groups and Astronomical and Meteorological Observatories regional and local. Schools are involved with an educational program and astronomy laboratories to involve students and individual citizens in research activities.
COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE MAYOR OF SANT'AGAPITO
"I immediately warned the citizens - says Giuseppe Di Pilla, mayor of Saint Agapitus in Temennotte Approximately 250 people live there. They could encounter the fireball. I explained how it could be done and what to do if it were found. From the coordinates provided to me by the Prisma Network, the fall would have occurred near the river and the area of the Sant'Agapito junction on State Road 85. Next week, together with Prisma scientists, the search will begin. The regional CAI (Italian Alpine Club) will participate. We may involve other associations, but always with safety in mind, we must not forget the containment measures. CovidI'll go too." "For our area," he concludes, "it would be a godsend, even in terms of tourism. The town is five kilometers from Isernia, where there's a splendid Paleolithic museum; it would be extraordinary to be able to exhibit it."
Gustavo Gentile
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