Is this possible or Just another sky news sensation?
This is another fine example of people in the news media having no scientific background so they mess up the facts. (When I was taking second year astronomy many years ago, there were two reporters enrolled. They clearly had no understanding or background, and finally the Professor asked them what made them think they were prepared to take an advanced course. The answer: “our editor”) An object entering the Eath’s atmosphere from space will be moving at a minimum of 7 miles per second (about 25,000 miles/hour), and possibly up to 2.5 times that. However, air resistance will slow it down to what is called terminal velocity, about 125 miles per hour by the time it hits the ground. (A much larger object might be a bit faster.) So the kid was almost certainly just grazed. Nor would it have been white hot when it landed.
