What Are the Odds a Meteorite Could Kill You?
Rumors of a space rock accident in India raise the question of how common this is.
As scientists investigate a reported death from a meteorite strike in southern India over the weekend, we wondered about the probability of such a fatal accident. Most people have the sense that meteorite strikes on people are exceedingly rare, but how rare? (As of Wednesday morning, NASA has cast serious doubt on the reports from India, saying the more likely culprit was a land-based explosion.)
Regardless of the final story in India, a meteorite is a piece of rock that strikes the Earth from outer space. The most famous case in the U.S. happened in 1954, when Ann Hodges was hit by a space rock in Sylacauga, Alabama.
The softball-sized hunk of black rock crashed through her ceiling while she
