A blast occurring in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua during the dark of night may have been caused by a meteorite, but researchers aren't sure.
The mysterious blast left behind a 40-feet-wide crater, Reuters reported. The explosion occurred at about 11:00 p.m. on Saturday near the Managua airport. Nobody has been reported to have been injured.
"All the evidence that we've confirmed on-site corresponds exactly with a meteorite and not with any other type of event," Jose Millan, of the Nicaraguan Institute of Earth Studies (Ineter) told Reuters. "Firstly, we have the seismic register which coincides with the time of impact, and the typical characteristic that it produces a cone in the place of impact."
NASA is not as confident the blast was caused by a meteorite, specifically 2014 RC which is believed to have passed harmlessly by Earth over the weekend, National Geographic reported. Some Nicaraguan astronomers blamed the blast on a chip-off from the meteor when interviewed by the media early on.
"Information is limited, but the miss distance of 2014 RC actually precludes any related meteorite impact." MIT asteroid expert Richard Binzel told National Geographic.
NASA asteroid expert Don Yeomans, author of "Near-Earth Objects: Finding Them Before They Find Us," also does not believe the crater was caused by a meteorite impact.
"This event was separated by 13 hours from the close Earth approach of 2014 RC, so the explosion and the asteroid are unrelated," Yeomans told National Geographic. " There was no obvious optical fireball or debris trail seen prior to the explosion, so it seems unlikely that the explosion in Nicaragua was related to a meteorite impact."
Nicaraguan researchers have not been able to determine the composition of whatever caused the impact because they have not been able to find it; they believe it most likely disintegrated upon impact or is still buried below the ground, Reuters reported.
"We need to celebrate the fact that it fell in an area where, thank God, it didn't cause any danger to the population," Millan told Reuters.
WATCH:
