Meteorite that crashed through roof of New Jersey home

Meteor smashes New Jersey home

On Monday afternoon, a New Jersey family reported an apparent meteorite crashed through their roof. Thankfully, no one was injured in the incident. Check out the crazy pictures of the crashed meteorite below.

According to the Hopewell Police Department’s statement, a “metallic object believed to be a meteorite” struck the roof of a ranch-style home. The object described as being about four inches by six inches, went through the roof and ceiling of the home before it “impacted the hardwood floor” and came to a stop. The police also released an image showing the space rock next to a damaged, cracked floor. Suzy Kop, a resident of the home, told CBS Philadelphia that the meteorite landed in her father’s bedroom while no one was home.

Kop told the station.

“I thank God that my father was not here, no one was here, we weren’t hurt or anything.”

According to her, she found the object among debris in the room after it fell through the ceiling. Initially, she suspected that someone had thrown it.

“I did touch the thing, because I thought it was a random rock, I don’t know, and it was warm.”

According to Kop, emergency responders checked on her and her family and confirmed that there were no remaining substances or effects from the object. Everything “came back clear,” she told CBS Philadelphia.

Meteor that crashed into New Jersey home likely came from the ongoing Eta Aquariids

Police have contacted several agencies to identify the object and seek help in protecting residents and the object. They believe the object may be related to the ongoing meteor shower known as the Eta Aquariids, an event associated with Halley’s Comet that is visible from mid-April to late May and usually peaks around May 5 each year.

The investigation is ongoing, police said.

Derrick Pitts, the chief astronomer at the Franklin Institute, told CBS Philadelphia that the object could be billions of years old, possibly dating back to the formation of the solar system itself.

Pitts told CBS Philadelphia

“It’s been running around in space all that time and now it’s come to Earth and fell in their laps. For it to actually strike a house, for people to be able to pick up, that’s really unusual and has happened very few times in history.”

What are the Eta Aquariids?

The Eta Aquariids is a meteor shower that occurs every year between April 19 and May 28. This meteor shower is caused by the debris left behind by Halley’s Comet as it orbits around the sun.

The Eta Aquariids gets its name from the constellation Aquarius, as the meteors appear to radiate from this constellation. The peak of the meteor shower usually occurs around May 5 or 6, and during this time, observers can see up to 30 meteors per hour.

The Eta Aquariids is known for its fast-moving meteors, with an average speed of 66 km/s. It is also known for its bright fireballs, making it a popular meteor shower to observe.

The Eta Aquariids is one of the two meteor showers created by debris from Halley’s Comet. The other meteor shower, the Orionids, occurs in October. The Eta Aquariids is visible from both hemispheres, but it is best seen from the southern hemisphere, where the radiant is higher in the sky.

The Eta Aquariids is a result of Earth passing through a stream of debris left behind by Halley’s Comet. As the debris enters Earth’s atmosphere, it vaporizes, causing the streaks of light we call meteors.

The Eta Aquariids is known for its fast-moving meteors, with an average speed of 66 km/s. This makes it one of the fastest meteor showers of the year.

Image Credits

In-Article Image Credits

Meteorite that crashed through roof of New Jersey home via Hopewell Township New Jersey Police with usage type - Public Domain
Meteorite that crashed through roof of New Jersey home via Hopewell Township New Jersey Police with usage type - Public Domain
Meteorite that crashed through roof of New Jersey home via Hopewell Township New Jersey Police with usage type - Public Domain
Meteorite that crashed through roof of New Jersey home and smashed wood flooring via Hopewell Township New Jersey Police with usage type - Public Domain