It may not be quite as large as the crash at Roswell, but to residents at one small Massachusetts community, it’s proving just as mysterious. The object, which crashed into a warehouse at some point in the middle of the night was thought at first to possibly be from a passing plane. But as time went on, it soon became apparent that the force of speed required would have had to have been far higher. So if it wasn’t space debris, then what was it?
The debris, which has been described as small and cylindrical is like the miniaturized version of the great cylinders launched at Earth in HG Welles’ classic “War of the Worlds,” but far from having any malevolent alien force secreted within, it’s thought these cylinders may have had a more terrestrial origin. Only recently the subject of space debris came up once again as Russia’s stalling Phobos Grunt prepares to plummet back to Earth with debris fears once again on the rise. Already, there are talks of whether the failed craft will endanger buildings and people as it is scattered or plummets in a controlled crash. For the most part Russia has expressed confidence that the craft will not harm anyone on the surface.
But this latest piece of debris is currently being investigated as potentially from space. The object apparently dropped right through the sheet metal ceiling and several layers of insulation before smashing into the ceiling tiles and shattering them before cracking onto the floor with a no doubt deafening thud – which no one was able to hear. When the object was recovered, it was not readily apparent how long it had been in the warehouse. But now as authorities investigate what seems to be a completely perplexing mystery, some are expressing concern that the long held belief that what goes up must come down could also apply to the thousands of tons of natural and man-made debris swirling around our globe.
The chances of any one person being hit by falling debris from space is incredibly slim. And though there are a few cases of humans and animals being hit by these earthbound objects, the idea itself is generally more concerning. Perhaps it is simply some element of our primordial unconscious that suggests to us that at any moment danger could come falling from the sky like a great torrential rain. Or perhaps it is because we realize that soon it will be increasing ever more – making the world a place all the more dangerous to live in. Of course it wouldn’t even have had to have hit a person in order for the meteorite to prove dangerous. Given sufficient size and speed, even a fortified dam could be threatened by a meteorite. The reason space debris does so much damage isn’t because of its size, but its incredible speed – which depending on how it is shaped is slowed considerably by the atmosphere and – in the case of the warehouse – the roof.
