Possible meteorite crashes into New Jersey home, no injuries
yesterday
This image provided by Hopewell Township Police Department shows a metallic object believed to be a meteorite that struck the roof a residence in Hopewell Township, N.J. Hopewell Township police said the 4- by-6-inch, oblong-shaped object struck the ranch-style home on Monday, May 8, 2023 and eventually came to rest on a floor. It's estimated to weigh about four pounds.
yesterday
This image provided by Hopewell Township Police Department shows a metallic object believed to be a meteorite that struck the roof a residence in Hopewell Township, N.J. Hopewell Township police said the 4- by-6-inch, oblong-shaped object struck the ranch-style home on Monday, May 8, 2023 and eventually came to rest on a floor. It's estimated to weigh about four pounds.
(Hopewell Township Police Department via AP)
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — A metallic object believed to be a meteorite punched a hole in the roof of a central New Jersey home this week, smashing into a hardwood floor and bouncing around a bedroom. The family who owns the home discovered the black, potato-sized rock in a corner — still warm.
Nobody was hurt and there was no serious damage to the residence, said police in Hopewell Township, north of the state capital Trenton. The object measures about 4 by 6 inches (10 by 15 centimeters) and weighs about four pounds (1.8 kilograms), police said.
Suzy Kop, whose family owns the home, said they initially thought someone had thrown a rock into an upstairs bedroom Monday, but soon realized that wasn’t the case. The family plans to meet with an astrophysicist who will further examine the object.
“We are thinking it’s a meteorite, came through here, hit the floor here because that’s completely damaged, it ricocheted up to this part of the ceiling and then finally rested on the floor there,” Kop told KYW-TV in Philadelphia. “I did touch the thing because I thought it was a random rock, I don’t know, and it was warm.”
Kop said hazmat officials responded to their home to check it out along with her family, in case they had been exposed to some type of radioactive material, but those checks were all negative.
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — A metallic object believed to be a meteorite punched a hole in the roof of a central New Jersey home this week, smashing into a hardwood floor and bouncing around a bedroom. The family who owns the home discovered the black, potato-sized rock in a corner — still warm.
Nobody was hurt and there was no serious damage to the residence, said police in Hopewell Township, north of the state capital Trenton. The object measures about 4 by 6 inches (10 by 15 centimeters) and weighs about four pounds (1.8 kilograms), police said.
Suzy Kop, whose family owns the home, said they initially thought someone had thrown a rock into an upstairs bedroom Monday, but soon realized that wasn’t the case. The family plans to meet with an astrophysicist who will further examine the object.
“We are thinking it’s a meteorite, came through here, hit the floor here because that’s completely damaged, it ricocheted up to this part of the ceiling and then finally rested on the floor there,” Kop told KYW-TV in Philadelphia. “I did touch the thing because I thought it was a random rock, I don’t know, and it was warm.”
Kop said hazmat officials responded to their home to check it out along with her family, in case they had been exposed to some type of radioactive material, but those checks were all negative.
By Brian Lada, Accuweather.com
A photo of the suspected meteorite that hit a home in New Jersey on May 8, 2023. Photo courtesy Hopewell Township Police Department/Facebook
The week started with a bang for a homeowner in New Jersey after a likely meteorite blasted a hole through a house early Monday afternoon.
A metallic rock fell out of the sky and hit a house in Hopewell Township, N.J., located approximately 10 miles north of Trenton. The Hopewell Township Police Department responded to the incident and confirmed that the oblong-shaped rock damaged the building.
"It penetrated the roof, the ceiling and then impacted the hardwood floor before coming to a rest," the police department said. No one was injured during the incident.
An investigation is underway to identify the rock and to determine if it is indeed from space. Scientists will closely examine the rock, which appears to have a charred exterior and measures approximately 4 inches by 6 inches.
The Hopewell Township Police Department said that the meteorite could be related to the recent peak of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, but it is still unclear if the two events are related.
.jpg)
Smaller space rocks typically burn up and disintegrate when entering Earth's atmosphere, but larger rocks can make it to the surface of the planet. Space rocks that reach the surface of the Earth are called meteorites.
Contrary to popular belief, many meteorites that hit the ground are not hot enough to start a fire. According to the American Meteor Society, meteors like the one that fell in New Jersey may be warm when they hit the Earth, but "probably reach the ground at only slightly above ambient temperature."
Although it's extremely rare for a meteorite to hit a house, there have been several notable incidents in the past.
On Oct. 3, 2021, a softball-sized meteorite crashed through a house in British Columbia, Canada, landing in a bed just inches away from a woman who wasing.
One of the most famous meteorite crashes in recent U.S. history took place on Oct. 9, 1992, when a 26-pound space rock hit a car parked in a driveway in Peekskill, New York, just north of New York City. The vehicle became world famous and was on display in several museums, including France's National Museum of Natural History.
No comments:
Post a Comment