Meteorite Explodes over Romanian City. Or so a Scientist Claims
July 18th, 2019
by Andreea Sterea
On 9 of July 2019, around 2 p.m., the inhabitants of Iași (Romania), heard a booming sound with no apparent cause or explanation. The phenomenon elicited a handful of theories. Today, a Romanian physicist reveals it was a meteorite all along.
The citizens of Iasi and its surroundings experienced a strange phenomenon two weeks ago when a booming sound – which lased for 2 seconds – took everybody by surprise.
Romanian authorities did not give an explanation for the phenomenon, but people continued talking about it, especially because the city of Iași is not at its first rodeo. On June 1st, 2016, the citizens of Iași and its surroundings heard a similar sound that remained unexplained even today.
The theories regarding this month’s event appeared almost immediately in the Romanian press and on social media, but Physics Professor Silviu Gurlui (from Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iasi) dismissed the airplane sonic boom hypothesis two days later.
Professor Silviu Gurlui inferred that a small meteorite exploded over the city of Iași on the 9th of July and today he published the conclusions he reached after studying the data captured by equipment installed in the city.
The Meteorite Characteristics according to the Scientist’s Claims
According to Professor Silviu Gurlui and the conclusions published today, the meteorite that exploded over the city of Iași on the 9th of July had the following characteristics:
- A minimum of 18 pounds in weight
- A little over 6 inches in diameter
If his calculations are correct, the explosion power was around 800 megawatts for 2 seconds only.
Moreover, the meteorite explosion was equivalent with 1.6 GJ, or about 882 pounds of TNT.
The explosion, however, was very far – almost 65616 feet above the ground. Happening during the mid of a clear sunny day, the explosion light is not likely to have been visible to the human eye.
Professor Gurlui also said that other meteorological and physical factors were in play, so that nobody could see the tiny meteorite with the naked eye. Moreover, if the explosion led to fragments falling on the ground, they were so small they had no significant impact, as the equipment did not register any types of unusual vibrations.
A Comparison to the Meteorite in Russia
The meteorite that exploded over Russia in Chelyabinsk Oblas back in 2013 was, by comparison, a real monster, explained the Romanian scientist.
Equaling the power of almost 30 Hiroshima bombs, the Russian meteorite was, in our opinion, Godzilla versus Antman.
If the calculations and the theory gain even more scientific data, we can say that something is going on over Romania.
Professor Gurlui also claims that the unexplained phenomenon from 2016 (that also occurred over the city of Iași around noon and sounded like a big-bada-boom somewhere far above) was also a small meteorite exploding.
What is Happening in Romania?
Besides Dracula and other amazing folk tales, Romania seems to be a very interesting place where strange things… happen. If the scientist is correct, then the same city had the “honor” of having two meteorites exploding above it at a three years’ distance but during the same period of time – at noon.
If science proves these phenomenons were indeed meteorite explosions, the question we cannot help but ask is: why are meteorites exploding over the city of Iasi? And, consequently, how come nobody knows about them?
What do you think? Was it a meteorite? Was it something else?
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