The Mbale Meteorite
One afternoon, an explosion over a Ugandan town rained stones from the sky, and a small one bounced off a banana tree onto a boy's head.
What was reported
At about 3:40 pm on 14 August 1992, people in Mbale, in eastern Uganda, heard a deafening explosion and saw a smoke trail in the sky. Moments later, stones began falling over the town and surrounding countryside, punching holes in roofs.
One small fragment, weighing a few grams, fell through the leaves of a banana tree and struck a boy on the head. The leaves had slowed it down, and he was unhurt.
Explanations offered
Scientists identified the stones as fragments of a meteorite, an ordinary stony type, which broke apart in the air and scattered pieces across an area of about 3 by 7 km. Many kilograms of fragments were collected. It is one of the best-documented meteorite falls in Africa.
- When
- 14 August 1992
- Where
- Mbale, Uganda
- Witnesses
- Thousands of residents of Mbale
- Status
- Confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.