Astrophysicist says that metalic meteorite caused crater in Peru

Dr. Jose Ishitsuka is a researcher in radio astronomy who leads the Astronomy Area of Ancon Observatory of Geophysical Institute of Peru. He holds a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Tokyo University, Japan, and though his early research focused on stellar astrophysics, he also became interested is solar and geospace physics. Since 2002, he has been in charge of the project to transforming a 32 meter INTELSAT antenna into a Radio Telescope. His IHY activities include hosting two Kyushu University magnetometers, MAGDAS and CPMN, and his institute will soon be the site of a FMT telescope from Hida Observatory of Kyoto University.

I was reading about this on Dad2059’s Blog of Science Fiction/Science Fact and Random Acts of Weirdness the other day and have been trying to find more information on it.

More details emerged when astrophysicist Jose Ishitsuka of Peru's Geophysics Institute reached the site about 6 miles from Lake Titicaca. He confirmed that a meteorite caused a crater 42 feet wide and 15 feet deep, the institute's president, Ronald Woodman, told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Ishitsuka recovered a 3-inch magnetic fragment and said it contained iron, a mineral found in all rocks from space. The impact also registered a magnitude-1.5 tremor on the institute's seismic equipment — that's as much as an explosion of 4.9 tons of dynamite, Woodman said.

Meteorite Likely Caused Crater in Peru
By MONTE HAYES – 17 hours ago

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peruvian astronomers said Thursday that evidence shows a meteorite crashed near Lake Titicaca over the weekend, leaving an elliptical crater and magnetic rock fragments in an impact powerful enough to register on seismic charts.

As other astronomers learned more details, they too said it appears likely that a legitimate meteorite hit Earth on Saturday — an rare occurence.