BH-CELESTIAL-OBJECT

Suspected meteorite chunk lands in Bihar's Madhubani district
    Madhubani, July 24 (PTI) A celestial object, weighing
more than 10 kg and having magnetic properties, landed in a
village of this north Bihar district a couple of days ago, a
senior official said on Wednesday.
    Madhubani District Magistrate, Shirsat Kapil Ashok
said, the object was found in Mahadeva village under Laukahi
police station area on Monday evening.
    "A group of farmers were working in the fields when
they heard an unusually loud thud. When they looked around to
find the source of the sound, they spotted the object lying in
a hole - about five feet deep - that was dug into the ground
by the impact of the fall", the DM said.
    Prime facie, it looks like a meteorite and weighs
about 13 kg, he said.
    The villagers extracted the object with some effort
and informed government officials who took it into their
possession and it was, subsequently, placed in the custody of
the district treasury, the DM said.
    "We have written to the state's Principal Secretary,
Science and Technology department, informing him about this
peculiar object that looks like a piece of rock but its
glitter is much more than that of an unpolished stone. Its
magnetic pull makes it even more intriguing", he said.
    However, we need to wait till the department sends
experts who can study the object and arrive at a definitive
conclusion, Ashok added. PTI CORR NAC
RG RG

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from a PTI feed.)