Grapefruit-Sized Meteorite Smashes Through NZ Home

Reuters ^ | 6/13/04

[freebilly]

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A grapefruit-sized meteorite smashed through the roof of a New Zealand house, hitting a couch and bouncing off the ceiling before coming to rest under a computer.

The 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) chunk of space debris dropped out of the sky and plummeted through the tiled roof of the Auckland home Saturday.

"I was in the kitchen doing breakfast and there was this almighty explosion," owner Brenda Archer told the Sunday Star-Times newspaper.

"It was like a bomb had gone off. I couldn't see anything, there was just dust."

Archer's one-year-old grandson had been playing nearby minutes before it hit.

It is only the ninth meteorite found in New Zealand and the first to hit a home.

The Archers, who are following expert advice by drying the rock out in their oven, plan to sell it or give it to a museum.

Experts believe the meteorite, a chunk of an asteroid, could be worth more than NZ$10,000 ($6,290), the newspaper said.

[freebilly]

The Archers, who are following expert advice by drying the rock out in their oven, plan to sell it or give it to a museum.

Yeah, let's dry it out....

[freebilly]

I wanted to post this in breaking news because the house got broken....

[Skwidd]

"Yep, Billy-Bob was always sure a meteor was gonna get him..."

[freebilly]

Meteor, right...!

[Dallas59]

Many astronomers believe that small rocks hitting the ground should not be hot. In a Science@NASA article about the recent fireball over Pennsylvania, written by Tony Phillips, the planetary scientist Don Yeomans is quoted as saying,"Rocky asteroids are poor conductors of heat. Their central regions remain cool even as the hot outer layers are ablated away... Small rocky meteorites found immediately after landing will not be hot to the touch."
We certainly don't have big fires starting when meteorites hit Earth, so although they may singe grass or burn someone, they definitly don't hit the ground as a flaming fireball, the way you sometimes see it depicted in movies.

Of course....you never what's inside...

[Dallas59]

"know"

[djf]

Aussie Bloke was right! TEOTWAWKI!

[freebilly]

TEOTWAWKI!

A round of antibiotics should clear that up....

[djf]

LOL!

Actually, that was Gary North's mantra during the Y2K thingy.

The End Of The World As We Know It.

But a good dose of antibiotics is always helpful, I've come across a few sub-standard TWAWKI's in my day!

[freebilly]

It's The End of the World As We Know it (and I Feel Fine)

And a pretty damn good REM song....

[NRA2BFree]

Ping!

[djf]

Well, in all of recorded history they only have nine meteorites? What a pudunk excuse of a country!

No wonder only sheep live there.

[freebilly]

Well, in all of recorded history they only have nine meteorites?

Must be that old "If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it...."

[Dr. Eckleburg]

A great movie -- ahead of its time.

[DB]

I don't think I believe this story.

[djf]

Let's hope not.

[oceanperch]

Cool I could use a space rock to fall on my property to pay off a few bills.

[Dallas59]

I've put a bucket out on the patio....Who knows?

[djf]

Don't hope for small favors. The rock that hit Arizona was something like 100 feet wide.

The rock that hit and formed the Canadian shield was AS BIG AS MOUNT EVEREST, and completely turned the crust of Canada over, like a pancake on a griddle.

New Zealand got hit by a grapefruit.

[Dallas59]

One the size of a watermelon should be enough to pay for my DirecTv and SBC bill!