The meteorite that fell in western Cuba about three weeks ago manifests “small levels of radioactivity,” scientists warn about the dangers from carrying the fragments with bare hands or on the body for long periods of time, says a published article this Tuesday in the official press.
The experts recommended that the fragments found in Viñales, the area on the western part of Pinar del Río province where the meteorite fell on February 1, “should not be used to make earrings, necklaces, amulets and bracelets, permanently attached to the body,” indicates a published article from Granma.
So far more than a hundred pieces of meteorite have been found, considered the “most notable event of its kind known in Cuba.”
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The scientists’ warning comes after many of the residents from Viñales displayed, as trophies, remnants of the meteorite in photos and videos posted on social networks.
Some have even placed the fragments from the cosmic rocks in their mouth, which according to studies could be a stony meteorite or lithite, from the subtype acondrite, which represents 7% of the findings.
After further investigations, the scientists concluded “with a certain level of certainty” that these rocks could come from the asteroid Vesta, the third largest in the Solar System, located about 372 million kilometers from Earth.
Between the elements verified in his composition they emphasize the silíceo (22,5%), iron (22,3%), sulfur (16,48%), and magnesium (5,8%), along with the presences from small portions of sodium, aluminum, potassium and calcium.
#Viral: Impresionante el sonido de la explosión al impactar el meteorito en Pinar del Río, #Cuba. (Video de Juan Alberto Pérez Pozo) Detalles en el enlace: https://t.co/OlCiPGBhnJ pic.twitter.com/TTKzsqDYKF
— Mario J. Pentón (@mariojose_cuba) February 2, 2019
"Impressive sound from the explosion when the meteorite impacted in Pinar del Río."
The meteorite that fell this past February 1st caused a great rumble, perceived in all the municipalities from Pinar del Río, especially in Viñales, where the shock wave from the meteorological phenomenon caused a great vibration.
When precipitated, the cosmic rock exploded at a height of eight kilometers, and according to satellite data from the United States and Canada, it was four meters in diameter (on its longest axis) upon entering the atmosphere, at an estimated speed of at least 40,000 kilometers per hour.
The largest fragment, found in the northern area on the cove of Dos Hermanas, was seen by a resident from that area, weighing one kilogram, length from its major axis is 10.8 centimeters and the volume was calculated to be 746.5 centimeters
In Cuba, the discovery of six meteorites, scientifically verified by chemical analysis and other laboratory procedures, have been confirmed to date.
Three of them were reported in 1938, 1974 and 1994, in the western towns of Artemisa and Bacuranao, and Santa Isabel de las Lajas, in the central province of Cienfuegos.
