Introduction
Over time, numerous reports of strange objects falling from the sky have accumulated. Many of these were nicely summarized
by C. Fort in The Book of the Damned.
The strange objects include pebbles and extremely large hailstones but also organic material - coal/charcoal, wheat/seeds and animals like fish, frogs and snakes.
Some reports even include living animals.
The reports are seldom investigated by scientific community and are usually dismissed as nonsense. Objects in Fort's book are commonly found during or after violent storms and common conclusion
of any investigation performed was that:
- either the objects were already on the ground, or
- the objects were transferred from another location on Earth by whirlwinds.
However, in at least some cases this is hardly a satisfying explanation and unlikely cause of the phenomenon. In example, in some cases there were no storms and objects were observed during the
fall. It is possible that in a lot of such cases the observer falsely concluded that the object found was the object seen falling from the sky but that's unlikely true for every case.
As C. Fort believed, and what I find likely too, in such cases, the scientific community generally doesn't give much attention to the phenomenon because it does not conform to the established
nature of meteorites. Here, the credibility of witnesses may also be questioned, although it's hard to establish a motive for foul play - there is no fame or money involved and witnesses are more
likely to be mocked than taken seriously, suggesting the phenomenon might not even be reported as often as it is witnessed.
The established dogma is that fresh (recently
fallen, not substantially weathered) meteorites must contain signs of melting in the form of fusion crust or patina which implies they cannot fall enclosed in ice, by the effective dogma they also shouldn't contain complex organic
material indistinguishable from organic material that can be found on Earth nor should they look artificial (man-made).
However, similar was the case even with what is now accepted as a meteorite - original reports of rocks falling from the sky were treated as nonsense for a long time by mainstream scientific
community before meteorites were accepted as fact - in the beginning of the 19th century.
Here I argue that at least some of fallen objects are indeed meteorites, even if not standard meteorites.
Background
Before ice was discovered on them, it was thought that asteroids cannot contain ice. This was based on
the assumption that they have been formed billions of years ago in
conditions precluding volatiles such as water. Under the same hypotheses, their nature and position should be virtually unchanged since formation. Later, it was thought that if they did
contain water/ice it must have evaporated/sublimated long ago.
All these assumptions were wrong. Water ice seems to be common on asteroids even today. This means that:
- such asteroids were formed more recently, and/or
- their composition was altered since formation.
Water can be produced
on the surface of an asteroid through the interaction of solar protons with oxide minerals, however, this is unlikely the only source. Depending on the type of an asteroid it
may simply balance the loss of existing water.
Some asteroids should be remnants of planets, dwarf planets and moons, all of which regularly contain water. Such asteroids should thus contain water [ice] too
which can be safely stored in their interiors for billions of years. And if my hypotheses on
large scale gravitons (gravitational maxima) and planetary neurogenesis are correct, asteroids may
not be created out of these bodies solely at death events, rather periodically (where sizes of created asteroids are proportional to hypothesized periods of general oscillation of
the Solar System energy). And this increases the probability of asteroids containing frozen pebbles, organic materials, microbes and viruses. While we generally assume that bodies falling
on Earth have been created elsewhere, it is also not impossible for something ejected from Earth thousands or millions of years ago to fall back on Earth today. In fact, material ejected
from Earth has a good chance of falling back to Earth later.
UPDATE 2023.08.10
It appears that such meteorite has been found already.
Even without my theories and hypotheses taken into account, obviously, the possibility for relatively recent formation of asteroids containing water and complex organic matter does exist.
Complex organics has existed on Earth for hundreds of millions of years and during the time Earth has been bombarded by large bodies numerous times. Surely, during some of these impacts, some
organic material has been, together with rock, ejected into space.
Both Mars and Venus have been habitable in the past, much more recently than thought originally. Mars is seismically
active even today, stable liquid water was present on Mars not only billions of years ago, but evidence suggests that the late Amazonian epoch
was episodically punctuated by climatic warming events enabling stability of liquid water on surface. It cannot be excluded that Mars and Venus, as suggested by my theories, periodically get
habitable on surface, at least partially.
It is thus possible that there are asteroids containing rocks, water ice and pebbles shaped by flowing water. And, while some might not agree, I consider it likely that if an asteroid contains
pebbles like those that can be found in Earth's rivers it will likely contain complex organics too.
Studies do show that rock capable of carrying life has likely transferred from both Earth and Mars to other planets, and even could have made it as far as Jupiter's moon Europa. It is estimated that
about 7 * 1011 kg of rock was ejected in the Chicxulub impact alone. Over the last 3.5 Gyr, approximately 1 * 109 fragments
larger than 3 m have been ejected from Earth and Mars.
All building blocks
of DNA have been found in meteorites. These can be interpreted as precursors of DNA, but could also be interpreted as remnants of DNA decay.
In the harsh conditions of interplanetary space (extreme cold, lack of oxygen) decomposition of organic matter by microbes and fungi is impossible and if organic matter is protected by thick
layers of rock and ice it will be protected from radiation too and may survive intact for millions of years.
Organic material, such as grain, reported to be falling on Earth was often also reported to be embedded in ice (hailstone). Obviously, any such material, be it rock or organics, won't be
affected by the fall through the atmosphere - assuming ice can survive, it would be the outer layers of ice and rock that would be melting.
If we accept then that an asteroid can contain ice we must accept the possibility for existence of meteorites containing no signs of melting of the exterior (fusion crust, regmaglypts) - assuming the material
is found after the ice has melted.
To investigate this possibility, useful questions are:
- how thick the outer layer of ice would have to be so the core doesn't get significantly affected during the fall, relative to particular atmospheric entry velocity and angle,
- if there is no fusion crust, is there any other way to prove the material came from space (other than direct observation of the fall) - considering it has been shielded from radiation and
decay.
Testing the hypotheses
In many reports, the infall of material was periodic, occurring at the same place, eg. every day during 4 days.
In his book, C. Fort concluded that the source of falling objects then must be some stationary body at some height. Although that cannot be excluded, it is unlikely and probably requires some
kind of spacecraft or something similar of artificial origin. Much more likely source should be remnants of asteroids, not stationary, but in highly eccentric orbits around Earth or the Sun, with orbital periods correlated with infall periodicity.
The source of these remnants could be meteoroids and asteroids exploding in stratosphere or at impact. Explosions generally
occur due to hot air penetration and can eject material at various angles and velocities.
In example, a projectile
with a diameter of 50 meters, mixture of ice and rock with a density of 1300 kg/m3, impact velocity of 33 km/s and angle of 45° would likely burst into fragments at an altitude
of 14900 m with residual velocity of fragments of 12 km/s.
Such velocities at a proper angle can send these fragments into eccentric orbits around Earth, even if relatively short-lived ones due to periodic experience of atmospheric drag.
In example, per Kepler, the orbit with orbital period (T) of 24 hours has a semi-major axis of:
$\displaystyle r = \sqrt[3]{T^2 {{GM} \over {4 {\pi}^2}}} = 42240\, km$
G = gravitational constant = 6.674 * 10-11 m3kg-1s-2
M = Earth's mass = 5.972 * 1024 kg
Assuming perigee at an altitude of 15 km (6378+15 km from Earth's centre), apogee is at 78087 km from Earth's centre (eccentricity of 0.84865).
Fig. \fig1: Potential orbital path of fragment(s)
The orbit is shown in Fig. \fig1, with an orbital inclination of 43°, velocity magnitude at perigee is about 10.8 km/s (without atmospheric drag taken into account).
Interestingly, this is also the minimal observed velocity of asteroids entering Earth's atmosphere. Perhaps some, if not all, of these are fragments captured in Earth's orbit after explosions in
stratosphere or at impact.
Periodic grinding of these fragments by the atmosphere can produce periodic infall. Infall of larger fragments of material, however, may require thunderstorms - which are often present in reports.
The updraft of water (ice) and other particles into stratosphere during thunderstorms, which can reach altitudes of 22 km, may have a role.
A body with a periapsis in stratosphere could act as a nucleus for the accumulation of mass in the form of water (ice). Not much mass is necessary to slow and de-orbit such body. With momentum
conserved this must be satisfied:
$\displaystyle m_2 v_2 = m_1 v_1$
where m1 and v1 are original orbital mass and velocity of the body, respectively, while m2 and v2 are mass and velocity after acquisition of
mass, respectively. To slow down velocity from 10.8 km/s to 7 km/s, which should be enough to de-orbit the body, mass would need to increase to:
$\displaystyle m_2 = m_1 {v_1 \over v_2} = 1.54\, m_1$
In a typical thunderstorm enough water exists to add a lot more mass than that to a typical meteoroid. A hailstone with embedded matter (rock/organic) and a ratio of ≈20:1 between water and
matter mass would fall to Earth as ordinary hailstone (assuming prograde original orbit) with no lateral velocity. Ratio is then proportional to infall angle and smaller ratios could be correlated
with more violent storms.
The updraft of water during thunderstorms can be the source of energy that would slow down the icy body beyond the typical atmospheric drag.
Instead of hot air filling the pores of the body, relatively hot water may dominate. How would the creation of hydrogen ions in the process and atmospheric discharges affect the body?
Would this result in additional mass in some cases?
Note that these bodies are also likely the source of big
microbes found in Earth's stratosphere for which no other known mechanism exists that could have brought them to such heights.
However, space bodies passing through Earth's atmosphere are generally losing both mass and velocity due to atmospheric drag (primarily through sublimation until surface temperature drops
below ~1000 °C). Is the addition of mass possible at all (considering pressures/temperatures, is it electro-magnetic in nature?) and is it necessary to explain the phenomenon?
It appears that bodies made primarily out of ice get slowed down significantly and fast by the atmosphere. Icy bodies
with a radius ≤100 m passing Earth at a minimum altitude of ≈15 km generally cannot survive the passage through the atmosphere at typical velocities. Even if the body is
orbiting Earth and thus has a lower entry velocity it would have to be much bigger than 100 m in radius (R) to allow multiple approaches.
On the other hand, even a smaller
icy body (R ≈ 25 m) on a collision course with Earth will preserve some mass.
Addition of mass is obviously not necessary for icy bodies to survive the fall, only significant slowdown is required in order for a body to fall at the speed of a hailstone (with no crater
formation).
Thus, meteoritic rocks with no fusion crust are possible and any possible cases deserve further investigation. Whether icy bodies, in some cases or generally, experience slowdowns
beyond the ordinary atmospheric drag or not is also worth investigating but won't be further investigated here. In any case, some of the fragments of a larger icy body exploding in lower
atmosphere could experience free fall and may survive down to the ground just as a hailstone does.
\ch_added
Correlation with thunderstorms
Why are reports of infall often correlated with thunderstorms? The updraft of water ice may have a role but the primary reason may be explosion of gases accumulated through electrolysis.
Electric current must be induced in icy bodies orbiting in the Solar System as they are moving through external magnetic fields (eg. solar wind field, planetary magnetospheres). In dirty
water [ice] (eg. ice with rocks or organics embedded in it) this results in electrolysis - decomposition of water into hydrogen and oxygen. Accumulation of these
gases can eventually lead to explosions.
The time varying magnetic fields created during electric discharges in thunderstorms can then enrich the already accumulated gas in bodies passing through the atmosphere while atmospheric
grinding is reducing the icy envelope containing the gas.
In addition to induced currents in the body, the electric currents generated in the atmosphere themselves could be passing through the body contributing to the effect.
This could then trigger the explosion and result in hailstone/rock infall, which otherwise would not happen.
Case study
Relatively large periodicities of fragments cannot be excluded either. Consider the reported infall of, possibly, the same material at
various times:
- wheat or seed falling enclosed in ice in Wiltshire, UK, year 1686,
- grain, of a kind unknown to natives, fell during a thunderstorm in Rajkit (Rajkot), India, 24th of March, 1840,
- some 500 tons (!) of cereal, far advanced in decomposition, fell with snow in a violent storm in London, Ontario, 24th of February, 1868.
I will add to this my own report of pebbles, charcoal and seeds enclosed in ice on the flat roof of a house
in Sibinj, Croatia, observed December 14th, 2022. I did not observe the fall and cannot rule out the possibility that at least some of the material was lifted up to surface from some depth
by capillary action of needle ice, however, discarding it wouldn't affect this study or its conclusion significantly so I chose to include it.
Interestingly, C. Fort in the book mentions this part of Croatia (Slavonia) in the same context.
All four cases could be explained by an orbiting fragment or fragments with an orbital period of 14 years. Of course, smaller periods (harmonics) are also possible but are less likely considering
centuries long survival (smaller periods = more frequent grinding by the atmosphere) and expected size of fragment(s).
With a period of 14 years, the orbital semi-major axis of fragment(s) is:
$\displaystyle r = \sqrt[3]{T^2 {{GM} \over {4 {\pi}^2}}} = 12.5\, \text{million km}$
Assuming a perigee of 15+6378 km, the apogee is at 25 million km, a highly eccentric orbit, as expected.
The relative stability of the 14 year period may be correlated with the resonance of the orbit with Earth's own orbit.
Positions of all places (incl. mine in Sibinj, Croatia) on the globe are also interesting, suggesting significant orbital inclination relative to Earth's equator, but also something peculiar, good
probability of resonance with Earth's rotation period - going in favour of the meteoroid/asteroid hypothesis.
Fig. \fig20221214: Potential orbital path approximation
This is shown in Fig. \fig20221214, the blue line is connecting equator on opposite sides of the Earth and is passing through London, Ontario. Upper red line is connecting London, Ontario
with Rajkot, India. Lower red line is passing through Wiltshire, UK and Sibinj, Croatia. Note that, if this body is orbiting Earth its velocity is significantly lower than typical velocity of
asteroids passing through Earth's atmosphere. The orbital path cannot connect these sites without taking Earth's rotation into account. Another reason of deviation is non-fixed resonance (as the
body is losing mass, resonance is unstable) and orbital
perturbations (oscillations) associated with high eccentricity.
All things considered, this body may not be a result of local explosion after all, rather something bigger and longer-lived that may have been captured in Earth's orbit.
In that case, period harmonics for the orbit may also be considered, as shown in Table \tbl1.
| period (years) | semi-major (km) | apogee (km) | next close approach (year) |
|---|
| 7 | 6258829 | 12511265 | 2029 |
| 4.6' | 4776381 | 9546368 | 2026 |
| 3.5 | 3942815 | 7879238 | 2025 |
Table \tbl1: Other candidate orbits for a perigee of 6393 (15+6378) km
Its inclination to Earth's equator should be about 43° (with an uncertainty of multiple degrees) and if it indeed was in perigee in December 2022, it was
above a location in Sibinj, Croatia (45°11'33" N, 17°55'01" E) most likely some time about midnight between 2022.12.13 and 2022.12.14, although an earlier date, up to a couple of days, cannot be
excluded (perhaps a correlation with thunderstorms should be considered).
UPDATE 2023.08.10
Another infall at the same location (Sibinj, Croatia) on the same house. On 2023.07.19 a violent storm with very strong winds (at times over 120 km/h, unprecedented for this location) occurred
here. Briefly, some hailstone fell during the storm too. After the storm, deposits of clay with stones were observed on the window opening of the house (the house is not finished, no windows
installed), as shown in Fig. \fig20230810. Interestingly, a peculiar rock fell right into the small plant container (diameter ~10 cm) sitting in the middle of that opening. The rock was later
analysed and it appears to be a haematite concretion, irregular, roughly 3 x 2 x 1.5 cm, shown in Fig. \fig202308102. The rock has a mostly black crust (not fusion crust), but is mostly yellowish-brown
inside. No such rocks can be found anywhere nearby (the building is on a hill with higher ground and forest to the north, valleys to the south, the soil is heavy clay, no asphalt).
In the container, the rock was embedded in the top layer of soil (appears to be clay, about 1 cm thick) that was deposited during the storm (beneath it, the plant container contains a mixture of
sand and gravel). The infall happened at an angle from the south direction. It is possible that the clay and the rock came from different locations - perhaps the clay particles were carried by
the wind while the rock fell in a hailstone.
Fig. \fig20230810: Storm aftermath (red arrow indicates deposited clay silt on the left, deposited ordinary stone on the right)
Fig. \fig202308102: Haematite concretion that fell in the container
The stability problem
Calculated apogee distances are well beyond the Earth's Hill sphere radius of 1.5 million km. Therefore, if orbital period is indeed of such magnitude, one must assume that these are not
real Earth bound orbits, rather imaginary. While elliptical orbits can be significantly more stable than circular ones, stability is also limited by perigee distance, any body
with a perigee lower than about 80 km would probably not survive multiple orbits. The body is then likely orbiting the Sun but in orbital resonance with Earth (1:14, 1:7, 1:2, or 1:1), passing
through Earth's stratosphere periodically (eg. every 14 years in case of 1:14 resonance).
And this will probably have to be true for any infall periodicity larger than ≈200 days. Larger infall periodicities can then be associated with bigger bodies and much more stable orbits.
An orbit with a period of 14 years around the Sun has a semi-major axis between Jupiter and Saturn, however, if the body is crossing Earth's orbit, its orbit must have significant eccentricity, with
an aphelion beyond Saturn's distance from the Sun. Rather than 14 years, smaller periods (≤7 years), with a closer aphelion, not beyond the main asteroid belt, may be more likely.
Conclusion
A relatively short-lived Earth bound eccentric orbits of younger meteoroids or fragmented meteoroids and asteroids, seem to be a plausible explanation for reported infall of various material that
does not resemble ordinary meteorites. However, Earth bound orbit is not necessary and is unlikely for larger infall periodicities.
The reason for lack of melting (fusion crust) of fallen material must be a protective envelope of ice.
Whether one will accept the possibility that this material includes pebbles and organic material like charcoal and grain is another story. There is no reason why it could not and there is no
reason why meteoroids or asteroids wouldn't be a more likely origin in some cases of reported infall.
The case study above predicts one source of such material that could still be periodically visiting Earth, and, with details provided, perhaps this object could be observed?
Paper updated.
Paper updated.
Paper revised.
