A metal object that blew a hole in the roof of a home in central New Jersey this week, crashed into a wooden floor and bounced around a room, was a meteorite, experts announced Thursday.
Scientists at the College of New Jersey determined that the 6-by-4-inch object, which weighs about 2.2 pounds, is a rare stony chondrite meteorite. They came to that conclusion after performing a visual examination, performing density measurements and scanning electron microscope imaging. They were assisted in their work by Jerry Delaney, a retired meteorite expert at Rutgers University and the American Museum of Natural History.
A meteorite after crashing into a residence in Hopewell Township, New Jersey, on May 8, 2023.Hopewell Township Police Department via AP file
"Having the opportunity to examine the meteorite (on Wednesday) was a rare and exciting opportunity for me, as well as for a group of physics students and faculty at TCNJ," said Nathan Magee, chair of the school's physics department. "We are excited to be able to confirm that the object is a true chondrite meteorite, in excellent condition, and one of a very small number of similar attested chondrite falls known to science."
The family that owns the house discovered the potato-sized black rock in a corner, still hot around 12:30 p.m. Experts believe she hit the house shortly before she was found.
Huge meteorite lights up the sky and disappears shortly before touching down in England
Feb. 13, 202300:26
No one was injured and there was no serious damage to the residence, police said in Hopewell Township, north of the state capital of Trenton.
Suzy Kop, whose family owns the home, said they initially thought someone had thrown a rock in an upstairs bedroom on Monday, but soon realized that wasn't the case. Kop said hazmat officials responded to his home to check it along with his family, in case they had been exposed to any type of radioactive material, but those checks were all negative.
