Many is the time a homeowner has come across an unexpected object in a bedroom and looked to the heavens as if searching for an explanation.
Perhaps not so common is for that skyward glance to actually yield an answer to the question: where did this thing come from?
But Titusville resident Suzy Kop told area media that that is pretty much what happened on May 8 after she encountered an unidentified metallic object in a bedroom of her home.
The ranch-style residence is located on Old Washington Crossing Pennington Road. Hopewell Township Police were the first to report that the object penetrated the roof of the house and passed through the ceiling before impacting the hardwood floor and coming to a rest.
“It appears whatever came from the sky fell through the roof of the top window that’s my dad’s bedroom,” Kop told CBS News Philadelphia.
Her first thought was that someone had thrown a rock, before realizing that something more profound had probably happened.
“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 CBS News.
She also said that she touched the object after discovering it, and it was warm.
HTPD said that the home was occupied at the time, but there were no injuries reported. The object was initially described as oblong in shape, appearing metallic, and measuring approximately 4 inches by 6 inches across.
The College of New Jersey physics professor and physics department chair Nate Magee confirmed on May 11 that the object was, indeed, from outer space.
Based on visual examination, density measurements, scanning electron microscope images, and examination and input from retired meteorite expert Jerry Delaney, of Rutgers University and The American Museum of Natural History, TCNJ reported that the object was a stony chondrite meteorite.
It is most likely type LL-6, which means that it is lower in iron than most chondrite meteorites. It has been highly metamorphosed by intense heat even before entering the Earth’s atmosphere.
“Getting the chance to examine the meteorite yesterday was a rare and thrilling opportunity for me, as well as for a group of physics students and professors at TCNJ,” Magee said. “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.”
TCNJ reported that the meteorite weighed 984 grams, or 2.2 pounds, and is approximately 4.56 billion years old.
The meteorite is likely to be named based on the nearest postal address, which means its officially name is likely to be the “Titusville, NJ” meteorite.
The meteorite is believed to have been related to a meteor shower called the Eta Aquariids, which is ongoing.
There are three space phenomena whose similar names may lead to confusion for some people: meteor, meteoroid, and meteorite.
According to NASA, a meteoroid is a particle from a comet or asteroid orbiting the sun. A meteor is the light phenomena which results when a meteoroid enters Earth’s atmosphere and vaporizes. Meteors are otherwise known as shooting stars.
A meteorite is a meteoroid that survives its passage through Earth’s atmosphere and lands upon the surface.
According to NASA, Earth is bombarded with more than 100 tons of dust and sand-sized particles every day. Space rocks smaller than about 25 meters (about 82 feet) will most likely burn up as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere and cause little or no damage.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, only one person in recorded history has ever been struck by a meteorite: Ann Hodges, of Sycalauga, Alabama, in 1954. Hodges suffered a deep bruise on her thigh.