Case file · Cosmic event
Nakhla meteorite and the dog
On 28 June 1911 a shower of stones fell at El Nakhla near Alexandria. The meteorite was later shown to come from Mars, and a farmer said one stone had killed a dog.
1911 CE · 31.07, 30.35 · status: official
The account
About 40 fragments were recovered. Nakhla gave its name to the nakhlite class of Martian meteorites, and in 1999 NASA scientists reported microscopic features inside it that some read as possible traces of life.
The sceptical view
The dog story rests on a single farmer's word, and no remains were ever produced. The 'biological' features are also explained by non-biological processes.