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The Hosur, Krishnagiri meteorite fall page 1 |
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Eye witnesses at a shallow impact pit in Kammandadodi
The meteorite fall discussed here is currently being
investigated by the distinguished scientists of the Geological
Survey of India, GSI. The GSI is among the oldest and most experienced
institutions in the field of meteoritics. It was established in 1851 and is
successfully investigating and curating meteorites since its beginning.
Countless contributions and publications place the GSI among the leading
institutes in the field of meteorite research. Under the diligent guidance of
its internationally highly esteemed director, Shri P. M. Tejale, there is no doubt
that its expertly skilled researchers will provide the best insight in this matter
imaginable, once their work is completed. Therefore we do not intend to anticipate
any of their findings with this article. Instead we hope to provide some general
insight to the interested public, into this intriguing event that occured
in the beautiful heartland of South India.
"Rocks rain down on Krishnagiri"
Friday morning, September 12, at 0830 hrs a brilliant orange
light appeared at 70° in the north-northeastern sky above the sleepy Hosur Taluk in
the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu, India. The light flashed for
an instant, turned darker and followed by a train of thick black
smoke several fiery tongues radiated down towards the ground, as if an irate deity
had spit fire from the skies of Krishnagiri.
Eye witness A. Malles, herdsboy, 14, pointing to the exact spot where a ~1kg mass fell, approx
100m from the Kothur village road
Only seconds later the villages of Attakuruki, Ullukurukki and Kamanadody became the ground
zero of a tremendous blow as several meteorites, each consisting of a few kilos of extraterrestrial
rock, slammed into roads and fields. The rural countryside echoed with thunderous
explosions as shockwaves from atmospherical explosions rattled houses and dwellings in their foundations.
"The impact blast shook the houses and made us run out of our homes," explained
local resident K. Srinivasan, 30 to a correspondent of the Deccan Chronicle. M. Nirmala, 35
an Attakuruki woman, was taking a bath in her home, when one of the meteorites impacted
less then ten meters from her front door. She was convinced a bomb had hit the house, as the
walls of her home trembled. "I was numb and had problems to hear" she told journalists. "When
I walked out of the door, people screamed,
cows were bawling and the air was thick of dust." Mrs. Timakka, 40, explained: "As I looked to the
sky there was smoke everywhere, as if from a big fire."
In front of her house an impact hole four feet in diameter gaped in the tar road.
Debris was scattered more than thirty meters around it. A man, who had seen the
impact, but not the falling stone, explained. "There was this sound in the air,
like someone heavily beating a carpet when out of nothing halfway between a group of
cows and me a fountain of earth and rock opened up in the middle of the
road, as high as the temple of Shiva in Hosur. It knocked me from my feet."
Indian news channel report of Sept. 13 on the Krishnagiri fall
Another eyewitness, G. Doraiswamy told journalists that explosions
shook the ground for half a minute. A. Padbhmanan explained a rattling
noise, like a train passing by, could be heard at the time of the fall.
Both witnesses explained that a trail of smoke could be seen rising from
the ground high up in the sky.
Soon the whole village was up on the road and carefully approaching the impact pit
around which the dust slowly settled. The meteorite had fallen almost vertically
in the last stage of his descent. It had impacted the ground with a terminal
speed of 55 meters per second or 200km per hours, subsequently penetrated a
20cm layer of tar and gravel. Its shattered fragments had buried themselves 1
meter into the ground.
Fragments of rocks and meteorite were shattered around but
the latter were not recognized at the spot. The excited villagers were
convinced that the big bang and the gaping hole were caused "by the accidental dropping
of a bomb by an IAF trainee pilot".
As the dust settled it became clear that not one but several objects
had fallen. Until the evening of September 12 three different impact sites
became known and a fourth in the next morning. Two days later a fifth impact
mass was reported. Until late November eight impact sites are known.
Brief description of the general area
The two villages of Attakuruki and Kamanadody are both located
14km east the city of Honsur in the Krishnagiri district in the state of
Tamil Nadu. The area came to importance during the reign of the ancient Western
Ganga Dynasty. The Gangas of Talakad, like the Kadambas of Banavasi, rose to political
eminence in the middle of the fourth century A.D. and ruled over the southern parts of
Karnataka, in southern India. In present times the rural area is torn between high
tech industrialization, for which the expanding titanium
industry in Hosur is a good example, and the traditions of rural country life.
The official language in the district is Thamizh. Krishnagiri has an
average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average. Kamanadody
has a public school and both Villages are connected to the infrastructure by
the well maintained National route N°7,
the longest national road in India. It connects Varanasi and Kanyakumari and
runs through Krishnagiri.
It takes more than a meteorite fall to disconcert the stoic villagers of Attakurukki. Soon after the official investigation team had left
the impact hole in the road was filled and leveled. Note the cows that were tied barely six meteres from the impact
The average elevation of the district is 631 metres (2070 feet). The
site of the meteorite fall is located a little higher on an elevation of 748
meters. Apart from an east - west chain of granite hills the land is gently undulating
toward the rivers in the south and in the west. Two major rivers, Cauvery and Thenpennar,
are cutting the district. The Krishnagiri dam is constructed across Thenpennar and irrigates
part of the area. Most other rivers in the district, like the Chinnar,
the Palar Thoppiar, Kallar, Varathiar and Pambar are minor creeks, which are dry during most
part of the year.
Krishnagiri District is one of the few forested areas of Tamil Nadu.
Although the famous sandal wood has become scarce since the days of Tipu Sultan
the evergreen woods are still a resource of rose wood, teak and the famous Charakkonnai
tree. The few villages in the forests are inhabited by the Irulars which are the major
tribal population in the Krishangiri district. Beside several dozen Indian tigers the forests
forming part of the Eastern Ghats house a major
elephant reserve. In the dry season the big animals sometimes wreak havoc among the villages
in search of water.
The villagers re-excavating the Attakurukki impact hole
The district has hot and dry summers during the months
of March to May and very cold and misty winters from November
to February. The average temperature varies from 17 Degrees
centigrade to 37 Degree centigrade. Average annual rainfall is 850 mm.
Although the exact geological age of the the southern Dharwar
Craton of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states in south India is disputed,
its origin is leading back to the Late Archean. The southern Dharwar Craton
of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states in south India exposes a depth profile of
Amphibolite, Granite, Gneiss and granulite facies. There are several surface
soil types in the district. In the Attakuruki area, where the meteorites fell, a
red lateritic and sandy coastal alluvium soil with a generally low nitrogen
and phosphate content is the most prominent.
The area lives mainly on agriculture, Nearly 74 %
of the workforce is dependant on agriculture, 43 % are cultivators
and the rest 31 % agricultural labourers. Rice, ragi, pulses, groundnut,
sugarcane, cotton, coconut and samai are the major crops cultivated.
But the major fruit is the Mango. Krishnagiri in fact is considered the
birth place for Mangos. With 300.17 km² of cultivation the district produces
300,000 tones annually.
Beside agriculture several surface mining pits are located in the Attakuruki
and Kamanadody area. Particularly the famous silver grey and silver black
granite is quarried here. "Krishnagiri" is in fact a Sanskrit word that means,
"Black Mountain".
