Latvian experts say meteorite crater was hoax

[snopes]

cientists investigating a large crater initially believed to have been caused by a meteorite said a closer analysis revealed it was a hoax.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091026/...tvia_meteorite

[Floater]

Swedish telecoms firm admits to Latvia meteorite hoax

Swedish-owned telecoms company Tele2 admitted on Monday it was responsible for staging a meteorite crash near a small village in the Latvian countryside.

"Our goal is to inspire the people of Latvia," Janis Sprogis, a spokesperson for Tele2’s operations in Latvia, told the Latvian news agency LETA regarding the motivation behind the company’s hoax.

http://www.thelocal.se/22910/20091027/

[Nick Theodorakis]

On the other had, a real live asteroid exploded Indonesia a few weeks ago, but even though it was estimated to be about 10 m in diameter and exploded with about a 50 kiloton yield, it didn't hit the ground (at least, not in one piece, or even a few) or cause damage or injuries.

Nick

[Crius of CoH]

I see the coverup is in full swing; now They even have their patsy claiming responsibility.

[Silas Sparkhammer]

This might be a good place to mention a meteor I saw last Sunday. What was interesting was that it shot straight down from above toward the horizon -- except that, at the very, very end it appeared to veer off at a sharp angle. Sort of a "knitting hook" curve. My guess is that, at the last, it had burned away to so small a chunk of matter that it simply fluttered away on the air: it had burned down from being a "rock" to merely a "flake" or even a "kite." The effect was visible for the last half-second, I would say, before the glow vanished entirely.

Silas (could probably .gif animate it...)

[BrianB]

Originally Posted by Nick Theodorakis

On the other had, a real live asteroid exploded Indonesia a few weeks ago, but even though it was estimated to be about 10 m in diameter and exploded with about a 50 kiloton yield, it didn't hit the ground (at least, not in one piece, or even a few) or cause damage or injuries.

Nick

29 October 2009 space.com article:

"My understanding is that this may have been the largest object to strike the Earth since the fireball near the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific on February 1, 1994," said Clark Chapman, a noted specialist in asteroids and a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colo.

Brian