Scientists are investigating the possibility that the object that struck and partially melted the Tesla’s windshield was a meteorite. If confirmed, this would be the first time in history that a visitor from space has struck a moving vehicle.
The incident under review occurred in South Australia. Veterinarian Andrew Melville-Smith was driving his Tesla on the Augusta Highway, 40 kilometers from Port Germaine, when he heard an explosion. “Glass went flying inside the car, there was white smoke everywhere, and we could smell burning. My wife thought the car was on fire. I thought we’d crashed, it was that loud, it was that violent, it was totally unexpected.”
According to Melville-Smith, Tesla was in autopilot mode at the time of the incident. It did not react to the impact and continued to drive as if nothing had happened. Melville-Smith did not see the moment when the object hit the windshield, but he remained covered in blood and glass shards.
Initially, Melville-Smith believed that his Tesla had been hit by a bullet or a stone, but the police quickly ruled out this possibility. Therefore, he suggested that the object could have been a meteorite and contacted the local museum. Its staff found it very unusual that the car’s windshield had been partially melted and agreed to conduct a chemical analysis to confirm or refute this version. According to them, if it turns out that a meteorite hit the Tesla, it will be the first such case in history. Previously, there have been incidents of meteorites falling on parked cars. But they have never fallen on moving cars.
At the same time, astrophysicist Jonthy Horner from the University of Southern Queensland expressed skepticism about the meteorite version. In his opinion, in such a case, a few minutes before the impact, a fireball would have been observed in the sky above this region, with a brightness comparable to that of the full moon. However, nothing similar was recorded.
Horner also noted that contrary to what Hollywood movies show, meteorites are usually cold to the touch by the time they hit Earth. This is because they have been in cold conditions in the depths of space for billions of years, and when they pass through the atmosphere, they only heat up for a few seconds. This is not enough to heat up their insides.
According to the scientist, he would not rule out other explanations for what happened; for example, something could have fallen from a passing airplane onto the car. There is also always the possibility that it could have been a piece of space debris.
Earlier, we reported on how SpaceX was cleared of responsibility in the incident involving damage to a United Airlines aircraft.
According to abc.net.au
