Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(LIP-ir) -- Peru's La Republica newspaper reported today that Ronald Woodman, director of Peru's Geophysical Institute, stated that the meteorite which landed in Puno on Saturday had high levels of iron.

In addition, Woodman stated that astrophysicist José Ishitsuka of Peru's Geophysics Institute, had collected samples of the meteorite and had confirmed that it contained a high degree of iron.

"The specialist José Ishitsuka has confirmed, after analyzing pieces of the object, that it is a meteorite with a high degree of iron and (contains) magnetic properties, characteristic of these objects," explained Woodman.

It was reported that Ishitsuka retrieved a 3-inch magnetic fragment of the meteorite and has based his conclusion after studying its properties.

On Satruday September 15 the townspeople of Carancas, Peru reported to have seen the sky momentarily light up and have heard a loud crashing noise in the afternoon.

Upon further investigation the townspeople found a 17 meter (55 foot) wide and 5 meter (16 foot) deep crater in the earth. The crash site is approximately 6 miles from Lake Titicaca.

On September 18 volcanologist for Peru's Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute (INGEMMET), Luisa Macedo, confirmed that it had indeed been a meteorite and classified it as a chondrite.

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	Scientist Confirms Meteorite in Puno, Peru is a Chondrite (by LIP, Sept 18, 2007)
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