photo courtesy of the Hopewell Township NJ Police
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Hopewell Township NJ, apparently the sky is really falling and a New Jersey family says they’re still in shock after a possible meteorite smashed through a roof. According to experts the metallic object that punched a hole in the roof of a Mercer County home this week, smashing into a hardwood floor and bouncing around a bedroom, was a meteorite.
Scientists with The College of New Jersey determined the object, which weighs about 2.2 pounds, is a rare stony chondrite meteorite. They came to that conclusion after conducting a visual examination, making density measurements and scanning electron microscope images. They were assisted in their work by Jerry Delaney, a retired meteorite expert from Rutgers University and the American Museum of Natural History.
“Getting the chance to examine the meteorite (Wednesday) was a rare and thrilling opportunity for me, as well as for a group of physics students and professors at TCNJ,” Nathan Magee, chair of the school’s physics department wrote in a statement. “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 witnessed chondrite falls known to science.”
A rare stony chondrite meteorite refers to a type of meteorite that belongs to the chondrite group and is predominantly composed of silicate minerals. Chondrites are the most common type of meteorite found on Earth and are valuable to scientists because they provide insights into the early formation of our solar system.
Stony chondrite meteorites are classified based on their mineral composition and the presence of chondrules, which are small, spherical structures within the rock. They can contain various minerals, including olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase feldspar, among others. The specific mineral composition can vary depending on the type of chondrite.
Rare stony chondrite meteorites are considered valuable and sought after by collectors and researchers due to their scarcity and unique characteristics. These meteorites can provide important information about the processes that occurred during the formation of our solar system, such as the condensation of dust and the accretion of planetesimals.
The family that owns the home discovered the black, potato-sized rock in a corner – still warm around 12:30 p.m. Monday. The experts believe it hit the home a short time before it was found.
Nobody was hurt, and there was no serious damage to the residence, according to Hopewell Township police.
Homeowner Suzy 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.
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