Did meteorite ever fall in Malaysia?
Since the meteorite impact in Russia during mid of February 2013 and the asteroid that fly over Indonesia, everyone is putting their attention on the risk of these “outer space” treat to our earth. Although the possibility of meteorite falling from our sky is rather rare, however, the impact of many scary movies and live video from recent event is making people asking if anyone is watching the sky for us. In fact, there is a group of scientist helping the earth to watch the treat from the outer space, still it is a very limited effort.
Based on the World Meteorite Impact Map, there is no record of meteorite falling into Malaysia Boleh Land. Some meteorites did fall into our neighbour’s land, e.g. Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia etc.
However, according to the local news, USM Centre for Global Archaeological Research researcher is in progress to register one of our meteorite impact site, Bukit Bunuh, with the Planetary and Space Science Centre’s (PASSC) Earth Impact Database.
Following is the news:
The Star, 17 Jul 2012
GEORGE TOWN: Archaeogeology researchers are pushing for the Bukit Bunuh hill to be registered as the country’s first meteorite impact site.
USM Centre for Global Archaeological Research director Prof Dr Mokhtar Saidin said an application to register the Perak site with the Planetary and Space Science Centre’s (PASSC) Earth Impact Database would hopefully be done by the end of the year.
“We are currently hosting a four-day international conference on the meteorite impact on the Bukit Bunuh area.
“After we collect feedback and input from the participants, we will apply to PASSC in the University of Brunswick, Canada, to register this site as an official meteorite impact site,” he said after the conference’s opening ceremony at a hotel here.
Dr Mokhtar said the Bukit Bunuh site was the first opportunity for researchers to study a meteorite impact site in the country, adding that samples have been sent to four separate international dating laboratories.
“The data shows that the melting of the country rock (into a new rock known as suevite) due to the meteorite impact had taken place some 1.83 million years ago.”
He said since an excavation site had been opened in Bukit Bunuh in 2001, dozens of stone tools had been found embedded in the suevite rock, suggesting the presence of ‘early man’ inhibiting the area before the meteorite crash.
“A total of 110 stone choppers, 53 hand axes, 30 other pebbled tools and over 1,000 other tools have been found.
“We feel that this is strong evidence in supporting the belief that early hominids (erect bipedal primate mammals) established a workshop for stone tools in the area before the meteorite impact,” he said.
USM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Omar Osman, who opened the conference, said the latest discoveries would contribute greatly to studies on early human migration.
Asked if it was time to re-write the history books, Prof Omar said a lot more work had to be done.
“It will be a long process. We are now getting more international researchers to come in and see if our findings are up to international standards.
“We believe we have a very strong foundation to look deeper into this research,” he said.
Source: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2012/7/17/north/11672761&sec=north
