A meteor was the cause of a mysterious explosion Saturday night near the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport in Managua, and it is believed to have evolved 2014RC asteroid that passed close to the earth at that same hour, local authorities reported Sunday .
"We believe it was a meteor," said the expert earth phenomena of the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INET), Wilfried Strauch.
The impact occurred at 23.04, local time, Saturday.
The event happened when the asteroid passed within 40,000 2014RC miles from Earth, closer than the height of communications satellites, according to authorities.
"We knew it would happen an asteroid (2014RC) near Earth on Arizona, can a piece of that asteroid we have fallen from the same area where the asteroid would" said astronomer at the Astronomical Observatory the National Autonomous Unit Nicaragua (Managua UNAN-), Humberto Saballos.
Before midnight on Saturday, the population of Managua was surprised by the sound of a large explosion which for hours its origin was unknown, some managuas felt what seemed like an earthquake, and it was not until Sunday afternoon when scientists determined the causes of the state.
The meteorite caused a crater 12 meters in diameter and 5.5 meters deep, and had a penchant input or direction 50 degrees west northwest, said geologist William Martinez.
"On the walls you could see signs of mirror, when passing the meteorite crater walls rubbing that goes by," noted Martinez.
A strong smell of gunpowder and a wave that exceeded the sound barrier were other features that made them think that it was a meteorite, scientists from INET.
The meteorite fell in an uninhabited area of Managua, but close to a military base west of the main airport in Nicaragua, so speculation expanded Sunday morning.
"We should be celebrating that did not occur in an area where it has caused damage, this is no further danger," said the adviser INET, José Antonio Milan.
Nicaraguans scientists seek support from scientists in the United States and other countries to determine the size and composition of the meteorite.
A similar event was investigated in western Nicaragua in 1997, and scientists concluded that it was a meteor, according to Strauch.
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