0
Oyinko

Norwegian skydiver nearly struck by meteorite

Recommended Posts

catfishhunter

***Very incredible - could have been a rock that got packed into the canopy, too.

Which canopy? The invisible man that jumped out after him? The two wingsuits were last out. Nothing above them but sky

And the plane they jumped from. ;)
Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Plane would have been diving after they let them out, at least per their story. He claimed the plane was below them, and that they were the highest jumpers.
"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
If you're feeling adventurous, Quickbird 2 is supposed to fall back to earth sometime in the next couple of years. You could try to find out where and when and try to do a skydive thereabouts. Getting hit by a 2 ton satellite would be much cooler than getting hit by some stupid little pebble!
I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
BigMikeH77

Very incredible - could have been a rock that got packed into the canopy, too.

This reminds me of the time I could not find my wrist mount altimeter for the next jump, so I went up with out one but guess what zoomed by my head right after opening? I watched it plummet into the ocean taking my chagrin with it. I think they heard the dope slap to my head on the ground.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I don't buy this meteorite theory for a second. It's a small stone packed in his rig that was ejected during deployment and caught up to him.

There are many solutions for speed and scale, that "experts" have been working on this for months does not outweigh the half a dozen orders of magnitude greater probability that this was a small stone in his rig.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm going with "real", not that I'm an expert ;) Really amazing, yes, but when looking at Anders' body language, he shows no sign of deception. That doesn't mean he's lying, just that he believes what he's saying (could be well rehearsed).

As far as the physics, I think it's believable. Again, I'm not an expert. Really unlikely, yes, but still believable.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
riddler

If it is a hoax, it is a very elaborate one:

http://norskmeteornettverk.no/wordpress/?p=1399



They're figuring the jumper's vertical speed to be a little less than 100 km/h. People spending so much time on this thing should be able to get the speed under canopy more accurately than that.
People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
One of the people involved with the video has posted that he believes it to be a rock in the jumper's canopy:

Quote

We think we can reconstruct what happened: A pebble, a few cm in size at most, was accidentally caught inside the parachute at the landing site after the previous jump. Then the parachute was packed on a clean floor and the pebble was not noticed. Then Anders made the jump with the stowaway. This is a wingsuit dive and he’s travelling fast northwards at an downward angle of approximately 40 degrees. When he releases the parachute, the wind catches it and it shoots out to the south of him. The parachute is held back by the cords, but the pebble is not. The pebble is now increasingly getting further south and further above Anders. However, the parachute then slows Anders down, he makes a 250 degree clockwise rotation and at this moment the pebble happens overtake him. It had now been falling for a few seconds and was no longer accelerating much.



http://norskmeteornettverk.no/wordpress/?p=1497
Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
riddler

One of the people involved with the video has posted that he believes it to be a rock in the jumper's canopy:

Quote

We think we can reconstruct what happened: A pebble, a few cm in size at most, was accidentally caught inside the parachute at the landing site after the previous jump. Then the parachute was packed on a clean floor and the pebble was not noticed. Then Anders made the jump with the stowaway. This is a wingsuit dive and he’s travelling fast northwards at an downward angle of approximately 40 degrees. When he releases the parachute, the wind catches it and it shoots out to the south of him. The parachute is held back by the cords, but the pebble is not. The pebble is now increasingly getting further south and further above Anders. However, the parachute then slows Anders down, he makes a 250 degree clockwise rotation and at this moment the pebble happens overtake him. It had now been falling for a few seconds and was no longer accelerating much.



http://norskmeteornettverk.no/wordpress/?p=1497



Yep. And does the "meteroite" match the material of the natural rock on the ground in that area? I'll bet it does.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/04/08/skydiving_meteorite_it_was_a_rock.html

The Bad Astronomer (Phil Plait) has done a series of articles where he went from maaaayyybe thinking it was to definitely thinking it wasn't. This is the final article (but with links back to the previous ones).
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

0