News Norwegian skydiver nearly struck by meteorite

**Dave Lane** · 04-04-2014, 11:56 AM

One summer day in 2012, Anders Helstrup and several other members of Oslo Parachute Club jumped from a small plane that had taken off from Østre Æra Airport in Hedmark.

Helstrup, wearing a wing suit and with two cameras fixed to his helmet, released his parachute. On the way down he realised something was happening.

“I got the feeling that there was something, but I didn’t register what was happening,” Helstrup explained to NRK.no.

Read article in Norwegian
Immediately after landing, he looked through the film from the jump, which clearly showed that something did happen.

Something that looks like a stone hurtles past Helstrup – clearing him by only a few metres.

Search party in the forest
Later that day, Helstrup returned to Oslo. But he could not stop thinking about his strange experience, so he took time off from work to go back to the Rena area for a couple of days to look for the stone – but with no luck.

Anders Helstrup - Anders Helstrup in his wing suit. - Foto: Roger Myren / NRK
Anders Helstrup in his wing suit.
FOTO: ROGER MYREN / NRK
“We continued the search during the summer. I got my girlfriend, family and friends to join the project. We searched the forest and kept looking."

By then, Helstrup had already formed the idea that it was a meteorite that flew past him.

“When we stopped the film, we could clearly see something that looked like a stone. At first it crossed my mind that it had been packed into a parachute, but it’s simply too big for that.”

Meteorite experts get involved
Eventually Helstrup contacted the Natural History Museum in Oslo.

“The film caused a sensation in the meteorite community. They seemed convinced that this was a meteorite, perhaps I was the one who was the most sceptical.”

Now Helstrup suddenly had a whole flock of meteorite enthusiasts following him. They analysed and triangulated and narrowed down the search area.

In the summer of 2012 Helstrup and his helpers had begun searching an area of one and a half square kilometres. Today, the area has been limited to 100 times a hundred meters, but that’s big enough – especially when you’re not really sure what a meteorite looks like.

“I found a stone which I thought was a meteorite and took it to the museum. They just fell about laughing,” Helstrup revealed.

“It can’t be anything else”
Although Helstrup is still not completely convinced that it was indeed a meteorite that flew past him, the experts are in no doubt.

“It can’t be anything else. The shape is typical of meteorites – a fresh fracture surface on one side, while the other side is rounded,” said geologist Hans Amundsen.

He explained that the meteorite had been part of a larger stone that had exploded perhaps 20 kilometres above Helstrup.

Amundsen thinks he can make out coloured patches in the stone, and believes that in that case it may be a breccia – a common type of meteorite rock.

http://www.nrk.no/viten/skydiver-nea...ite-1.11646757

04-04-2014, 11:56 AM	Topic Starter
Dave Lane Space Cadet and Aczabel Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Kanab, UT, USA Casino cash: $9333275 VARSITY	Norwegian skydiver nearly struck by meteorite One summer day in 2012, Anders Helstrup and several other members of Oslo Parachute Club jumped from a small plane that had taken off from Østre Æra Airport in Hedmark. Helstrup, wearing a wing suit and with two cameras fixed to his helmet, released his parachute. On the way down he realised something was happening. “I got the feeling that there was something, but I didn’t register what was happening,” Helstrup explained to NRK.no. Read article in Norwegian Immediately after landing, he looked through the film from the jump, which clearly showed that something did happen. Something that looks like a stone hurtles past Helstrup – clearing him by only a few metres. Search party in the forest Later that day, Helstrup returned to Oslo. But he could not stop thinking about his strange experience, so he took time off from work to go back to the Rena area for a couple of days to look for the stone – but with no luck. Anders Helstrup - Anders Helstrup in his wing suit. - Foto: Roger Myren / NRK Anders Helstrup in his wing suit. FOTO: ROGER MYREN / NRK “We continued the search during the summer. I got my girlfriend, family and friends to join the project. We searched the forest and kept looking." By then, Helstrup had already formed the idea that it was a meteorite that flew past him. “When we stopped the film, we could clearly see something that looked like a stone. At first it crossed my mind that it had been packed into a parachute, but it’s simply too big for that.” Meteorite experts get involved Eventually Helstrup contacted the Natural History Museum in Oslo. “The film caused a sensation in the meteorite community. They seemed convinced that this was a meteorite, perhaps I was the one who was the most sceptical.” Now Helstrup suddenly had a whole flock of meteorite enthusiasts following him. They analysed and triangulated and narrowed down the search area. In the summer of 2012 Helstrup and his helpers had begun searching an area of one and a half square kilometres. Today, the area has been limited to 100 times a hundred meters, but that’s big enough – especially when you’re not really sure what a meteorite looks like. “I found a stone which I thought was a meteorite and took it to the museum. They just fell about laughing,” Helstrup revealed. “It can’t be anything else” Although Helstrup is still not completely convinced that it was indeed a meteorite that flew past him, the experts are in no doubt. “It can’t be anything else. The shape is typical of meteorites – a fresh fracture surface on one side, while the other side is rounded,” said geologist Hans Amundsen. He explained that the meteorite had been part of a larger stone that had exploded perhaps 20 kilometres above Helstrup. Amundsen thinks he can make out coloured patches in the stone, and believes that in that case it may be a breccia – a common type of meteorite rock. http://www.nrk.no/viten/skydiver-nea...ite-1.11646757
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