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Did a Piece of Halley’s Comet Just Crash Through the Roof of a Home in New Jersey?

Posted by Guy Pirro 05/09/2023 07:42PM

Did a Piece of Halley’s Comet Just Crash Through the Roof of a Home in New Jersey?

A metallic object believed to be a meteorite struck the roof a residence in Hopewell Township, New Jersey. The home was occupied at the time but thankfully there were no injuries. The object is described as approximately 4 inches by 6 inches, is oblong in shape, and appears metallic. It penetrated the roof, the ceiling, and then impacted the hardwood floor before coming to rest. The Hopewell Township Police Department has contacted several agencies for assistance in positively identifying the object, which is believed to be associated with the Eta Aquarids meteor shower. Like most meteor showers, the annual Eta Aquarids are caused by the debris of a comet that once crossed Earth's path. In this case, it's the famous Halley's Comet. This comet visits the inner Solar System every 75 or 76 years, but the associated meteor shower is an annual event. The last time it passed close to Earth was 1986. It will be back again in 2061. If this object can be positively identified as an Eta Aquarids meteorite, then we’ll be able to touch and examine an actual piece of Halley’s Comet.


Comments:

Thanks for posting this. I wonder how it was determined to be metallic? It sure looks like a stony type to me.
In the photo it doesn't look metallic to me either, but it sure does look very dense.

Maybe it is magnetic and that's how they determined it to be metallic.

Hopefully we'll learn more after the experts get a chance to examine it in detail.


  • eranbob [Robert Campbell]
  • 05/11/2023 12:13AM
Very cool report, thanks.

No burn marks on the floor that I could see. Wouldn't it come in red hot?

Good point -- One would think that this meteorite would leave some form of a burn mark in the oak floor.

A question I've been asking myself is why did it stop at the first floor and not continue through and embed itself in the basement concrete?

The kinetic energy of this thing must have been astronomical (pun intended).

Enter the experts...
  • eranbob [Robert Campbell]
  • 05/14/2023 04:17PM
from the followup report:

"The home owner confirms that it was still warm when she found it at approximately 12:35 p.m. "

Maybe there were burn marks in the rafters at entry point to the house. Will the homeowner's insurance policy repair the entry holes and floor damage, or will they wiggle out with the 'acts of God' clause?

Unlikely they bought a rider covering them for meteor impacts. :-)


UPDATE: It's a chondrite meteorite and one of a very small number of similarly witnessed chondrite falls known to science. Most likely it is type LL-6, which means that it is lower in iron than most chondrite meteorites.


https://6abc.com/meteorite-nj-hopewell-township-new-jersey-eta-aquarids-meteor-shower-old-washington-crossing-pennington-road/13234502/