--- title: NASA Says That Was Probably Not a Meteorite in India description: The evidence points toward a land-based explosion, the agency said canonical: https://time.com/4215302/nasa-meteorite-india/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-10T14:39:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:56:33.027Z article:section: Science og:title: NASA Says That Was Probably Not a Meteorite in India og:description: The evidence in the bus driver's death points toward a land-based explosion, the agency said og:url: https://time.com/4215302/nasa-meteorite-india/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4b13f10fb86ddfd0/69887cf4ab6d7777be6a85a0/meteorite-india.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: INDIA-SCIENCE-GEOLOGY-ACCIDENT og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: NASA Says That Was Probably Not a Meteorite in India twitter:description: The evidence in the bus driver's death points toward a land-based explosion, the agency said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4b13f10fb86ddfd0/69887cf4ab6d7777be6a85a0/meteorite-india.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # NASA Says a Meteorite Probably Didn't Hit India by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Feb 10, 2016 2:39 PM CUT  Indian authorities inspect the site of a suspected meteorite landing on Feb. 7, 2016 in Vellore district in southern Tamil Nadu state, on Feb. 6, 2016. Indian authorities inspect the site of a suspected meteorite landing on Feb. 7, 2016 in Vellore district in southern Tamil Nadu state, on Feb. 6, 2016.STR/AFP/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Feb 10, 2016 2:39 PM CUT Indian officials said a falling [meteorite](http://time.com/4211780/meteorite-india-college/ "undefined") was responsible for the death of a bus driver in Tamil Nadu on Saturday, but NASA says [that’s not the case](http://abcnews.go.com/International/indian-man-killed-explosion-caused-meteorite-government-official/story?id=36808492 "undefined"). The incident apparently created a crater about 5 feet deep and 2 feet wide, was accompanied by an explosion and left behind a black rock. NASA says the evidence it has seen is more consistent with a “land-based explosion,” according to the [New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/10/world/asia/that-wasnt-a-meteorite-that-killed-a-man-in-india-nasa-says.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined"). “Small meteorites do not start fires or cause explosions when they hit the ground,” NASA spokesman Dwayne Brown told [ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/International/indian-man-killed-explosion-caused-meteorite-government-official/story?id=36808492 "undefined"). “To form a crater the size of what has been posted online would have required a meteorite of at least several kilograms.” The stone found in India, by contrast, reportedly weighed only a few grams. “While more details are forthcoming from local scientists, this is unlikely something from space,” he added. \[[_NYT_](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/10/world/asia/that-wasnt-a-meteorite-that-killed-a-man-in-india-nasa-says.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined"), [ABC](http://abcnews.go.com/International/indian-man-killed-explosion-caused-meteorite-government-official/story?id=36808492 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4215302/nasa-meteorite-india/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4215302/nasa-meteorite-india/"},"headline":"NASA Says a Meteorite Probably Didn't Hit India","datePublished":"2016-02-10T14:39:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:56:33.027Z","description":"The evidence in the bus driver's death points toward a land-based explosion, the agency said","url":"https://time.com/4215302/nasa-meteorite-india/","keywords":["Space"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4b13f10fb86ddfd0/69887cf4ab6d7777be6a85a0/meteorite-india.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4b13f10fb86ddfd0/69887cf4ab6d7777be6a85a0/meteorite-india.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"INDIA-SCIENCE-GEOLOGY-ACCIDENT","caption":"INDIA-SCIENCE-GEOLOGY-ACCIDENT","creditText":"STR/AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4215302/nasa-meteorite-india/","name":"NASA Says a Meteorite Probably Didn't Hit India"}}]}] ```