Preliminary examination by scientists have come to a conclusion that the 'fireball', which streaked across the Kerala sky triggering panic in several districts a day ago, could be a meteor. Officials of the State Disaster Management Authority, which collected the samples from a plot in Karimalloor village in Ernakulam district where the object was believed to have fallen, said preliminary assessment pointed to the possibility of it being a meteor. There are also speculations that the 'fireball' could be celestial debris or a rocket or satellite debris.

"Our primary assessments point to the possibility of a meteor. The objects we collected from the spot have high specific gravity. Though they are small in size, it has more than normal weight," Sekhar Kuriakose, a scientist said. "It is just a primary assessment and we cannot arrive at a concrete conclusion with this. We will hand over the collected samples to Geological Survey of India for further examination. We can arrive at a conclusion only after detailed examination," he added. He said the objects which had 'brilliant streaks' are due to iron-nickle presence, which is the peculiarity of a meteor.

By Premji