Posted on 08/11/2025 6:18:10 AM PDT by Red Badger
A meteorite that recently crashed through the roof of a U.S. home has been found to be older than Earth itself, according to scientists.
NASA confirmed the object blazed across the Georgia sky in broad daylight on June 26 before exploding.
A fragment from the meteorite struck a house in McDonough, where researchers from the University of Georgia later conducted an analysis.
According to CBS, their examination revealed the meteorite likely formed around 4.56 billion years ago — approximately 20 million years before Earth came into existence.
The dramatic event was witnessed by hundreds across Georgia and neighboring states, many of whom reported a bright fireball and a loud sonic boom.
Though the meteorite slowed and shrank during its descent, it was still moving at over 1 km per second when it smashed through the Henry County home’s roof.
Scientists received multiple fragments from the impact site for study.
“This particular meteor that entered the atmosphere has a long history before it made it to the ground of McDonough,” said Scott Harris, a University of Georgia geologist.
VIDEO AT LINK.........................
Using optical and electron microscopy, Harris’s team determined the object to be a chondrite — the most common type of stony meteorite, which NASA notes typically dates back 4.56 billion years.
The homeowner says small traces of space dust are still turning up around the property. The McDonough meteorite is now the 27th to be documented in Georgia.
“This is something that used to be expected once every few decades and not multiple times within 20 years,” Harris explained
“Modern technology, in addition to an attentive public, is going to help us recover more and more meteorites.”
Harris plans to publish detailed findings on the meteorite’s composition and velocity, research he says will improve understanding of potential asteroid threats.
“One day there will be an opportunity, and we never know when it’s going to be, for something large to hit and create a catastrophic situation. If we can guard against that, we want to,” he said.
The homeowner wants to know if the federal government is going to replace his Banquet Salisbury Steak Dinner that was destroyed by the meteor? “30 more seconds, it would have been done. Except that meteor pretty much shattered my microwave oven. What am I supposed to do for my supper?
And my Cherry Cheesecake is also missing. Maybe FEMA can reimburse me. I was not thrilled with the disruption!!”
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The only reasonable explanation is that it’s due to global warming.
I wondered that, too. If it crashes through your roof, do you get to keep it? And if not, who pays for the damage?
Line up the Keith Richards jokes
Was the Meteorite ‘beeping’ like the Moon Rocks on ‘Green Acres?’ Asking for a Friend. ;)
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣I was thinking the same…
I think the price of meteorites vary greatly, depending on the type, where it’s from, its age, etc. And also what someone is willing to pay, of course. Stony meteorites are pretty common however, and might not be worth as much as you think.
Wonder what a meteorite is worth? I found one on my property and have just kept it in a drawer.
Your joke sucks.
Older than dirt
But by the proper amount.
Ann Elizabeth Fowler Hodges (deceased) of Alabama is the only known person to have been hit by a meteorite and lived.
I remember seeing pics of her in our family’s Time Life book on weather.
Cue the billions and billions Carl Sagan memes!
There is a certain appeal in owning something that is from another world. I owned a meteorite once, or at least something that was highly suspected of being one. It was never properly tested, however. What happened to it is another story.
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