The meteor hit the Clan’s home. We asked the astronomer if that was possible

Hit the past hours in network become part of polishing The Klan TV series. All because in one of the episodes a meteorite fall was shown a house The main characters. Netizens became very interested in the unusual idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe scriptwriters and are happy to comment on the scene from the longest series of the Polish production.

It is therefore worth clarifying whether the scene has any relation to reality at all and whether the damage done in the film is presented realistically.

Can a meteorite fall on a house?

Let’s start with whether a meteorite has ever hit a building. we asked Krzysztof Czarte, a Polish astronomer and science journalist from the NCU Center for Astronomy and the journal “Urania – Postępy Astronomii.”

Meteor impact on the house is possible. Meteorites fall in different places and we have seen such cases in the last twelve years or so

The expert tells us. However, he points out that the probability of hitting a particular building is extremely low. He assures that it is much smaller than, for example, the chance of winning a huge amount Capital in the lottery.

As for the probability of such a strike, looking at media reports, the numbers are given as high as one in 100 billion. However, these accounts should be treated with caution.

And the last case (which was announced) occurred in the early days of November, when a rock from outer space hit the porch of a house in Northern California. its owner – as described He heard a great bang, smelled smoke, and in an instant his porch was on fire. Eyewitnesses saw a lightning bolt in the sky, a very bright trace left by a meteorite passing through the atmosphere.

What damage could a space rock crash do to a house?

There were more similar cases in the past, but they did not end in fires. However, to estimate the potential damage, you need to know the size of the meteorite (that is, the cosmic stone) just before it hits the Earth. In the case of these small stones – as the astronomer explains to us – they usually end up piercing the roof of the house.

Damage depends on the size of the meteor. A hand-sized stone will punch a hole in the ceiling and possibly the floor. It is different if it is much larger – for example, Chelyabinsk from 2013, which crashed at a certain height, and windows flew into the windows in a fairly large radius. If this type of rock were to hit a building, there would be nothing left of it—just a crater

– explains Krzysztof Czart.

For comparison, when a military missile hit a building, the building was left with rubble. In the case of a meteorite like the Chelyabinsk meteorite, the energy is much greater, so I think there will be nothing left of the building

he adds.

The stone mentioned by the expert, which appeared in 2013 above Russia – According to estimates – it was from 17 to 20 meters before entering the Earth’s atmosphere. It exploded at an altitude of less than 30 km above the ground, causing a strong shock wave that smashed windows and damaged some buildings. Then the number of injured was estimated at about 1,500 people (wounded mainly from shards of glass), but, fortunately, no one died.

The screenwriters of “The Klan” were blown away by fantasy

In short, the chances of a cosmic stone falling on a certain house in Sadeba in Warsaw are unimaginably small. This is still possible, although no such case has been reported yet. The closest to the capital was the Baszkówka Meteorite, which fell in 1994 in a field near Piaseczno.

However, the issue of displaying the meteorite fall by the creators of the series looks completely different. Not only did the stone hit and pierce the ceiling, it hit and destroyed the electrical installation (the lights went out). Then the scriptwriters were completely fooled by the imagination.

Exactly 33 seconds later, for unknown reasons, one of the walls breaks (let’s skip the completely unrealistic special effects), and after 4 seconds one of the glass falls into the door inside the building. It is therefore not surprising that the scene received many sarcastic comments on the Internet.

More interesting facts can be found on Gazeta.pl