March 25, 2014 12:29
The meteorites discovered in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province are debris from a shooting star that could be seen with the naked eye on March 9, scientists believe.
The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute and Yonsei University analyzed video footage from across the country on March 9, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning on Monday.
At the time, there were reports of cars' onboard cameras recording soccer ball-size meteors in Suwon and other regions. Black rocks presumed to be meteorites were found in Jinju on March 10 and 11.
On March 16, component analysis by the Korea Polar Research Institute confirmed that they are meteorites.
According to a bolide trajectory analysis by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, space rocks entered the atmosphere above northern Gyeonggi Province, flew south, and exploded into pieces in the sky above Hamyang and Sancheong, South Gyeongsang Province. Fragments fell in Jinju and nearby.
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