An Age of Magic

When is a crater NOT a crater…?

Answer: When it is a certain ‘crater’ in Latvia.
Scientists investigating a large crater initially believed to have been caused by a meteorite said a closer analysis today revealed it was nothing but a hoax. Specialists in the Baltic country rushed to the site after reports that a metorite-shaped object had crashed late last night in the Mazsalaca region near the Estonian border.

‘This is not a real crater. It is artificial,’ Uldis Nulle, a scientist at the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center, said after inspecting the site today. Earlier Uldis had said his first impression late last night was that the crater had been caused by a meteorite. He said there was smoke coming out of the hole when he arrived.

Dainis Ozols, a nature conservationist, said he believes someone dug the hole and tried to make it look like a meteorite crater by burning some pyrotechnic compound at the bottom. He added he would analyse some samples taken from the site. Experts outside Latvia said it would be unusual for such a large meteorite to hit the Earth. The planet is constantly bombarded with objects from outer space, but most burn up in the atmosphere and never reach the surface.

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