AN EARTH-SHATTERING KABOOM: A Cosmic Airburst May Have Devastated a Vast Native American Culture 1,500 Years Ago. “Researchers working across 11 different Hopewell archaeological sites covering three states have found unusual concentrations of iridium and platinum in their digging – telltale signs of meteorite fragments. Meanwhile, a charcoal layer in the sediment suggests an intense period of high heat. The hypothesis is that debris from a passing comet may have struck close to the Ohio Hopewell communities, causing an airburst that would have profound and potentially devastating effects on the local environment.”

How’s that space program coming along?