METEORITE THAT STRUCK NEW JERSEY HOME CONTAINS ASTEROID MATERIAL

A meteorite that crashed through the roof of a house in Hillsborough, New Jersey in 2024 has been found to contain preserved material from a primitive asteroid, according to research published in the journal Science Advances. The meteor produced a sonic boom over New York City as it travelled at 32,000 miles per hour before a fragment weighing approximately two pounds struck the residential property. The homeowner discovered the impact, hearing a loud crash and finding a hole in the master bedroom ceiling, alongside a strong sulphur-like odour and black fragments scattered across the bed, carpet and surrounding areas.

The homeowner preserved the meteorite fragments by placing them in glass jars using disposable gloves and aluminium foil, enabling scientists to examine some of the most pristine meteorite samples of their kind ever recovered. Researchers from the SETI Institute and Nasa's Ames Research Centre analysed the fragments and determined they contained preserved material from near the surface of a primitive asteroid. According to lead author Peter Jenniskens, a meteor astronomer, the fragments revealed evidence of concentrated salty fluids interacting with asteroid surface material—a process not previously documented in this type of proto-planetary world.

The American Meteor Society traced the meteor's trajectory using multiple cameras, including a doorbell camera recording, which allowed scientists to track the object back to the low asteroid belt. The findings may advance scientific understanding of asteroid composition and the materials such objects may have delivered to early Earth. Jenniskens stated the work could help answer whether asteroids supplied the necessary materials for life to develop on this planet.