Meteorite that crashed into a New Jersey home is a rare solar system fragment - CNN
A rare meteorite that crashed through a New Jersey home in 2024 has been identified by scientists as a primitive fragment of the early solar system. The object's recovery was aided by the homeowners' quick actions to prevent environmental contamination.
Why it matters
This discovery provides researchers with a pristine sample of space material, offering insights into the composition of the early solar system and the presence of water.
A meteorite weighing more than 2 pounds (1 kilogram) that crashed through the roof of a New Jersey home two years ago could shed light on ancient water in the solar system. Observers across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania reported seeing a fireball streaking across the sky during the daytime on July 16, 2024. As the object whizzed by just south of the Statue of Liberty, it caused a sonic boom felt by New York City and New Jersey residents. The spectacle came from a space rock, estimated to be the size of a heavy airline bag, that zipped through Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 32,000 miles per hour (14.4 kilometers per second). Unlike some meteorites, this space rock was particularly fragile, and it broke apart about 22 miles (35.4 kilometers) aboveground.
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