Imagine the shock of finding a large, metallic-looking rock on your bedroom floor. This is what happened to Suzy Kop in Hopewell Township, New Jersey, on May 11, as we reported a few days ago. But it was not just any rock - it was a meteorite that had plummeted to Earth from space.
Thankfully, no one was injured when the rock slammed into the house, leaving two holes in the ceiling and a dent in the floorboard. Kop immediately reported the incident to authorities, who confirmed that the space rock was not radioactive.
Meteorite That Crashed NJ Home Is Older Than the Solar System
After ensuring the safety of the residents, the space rock was handed over to the College of New Jersey (TCNJ) for further inspection. Space.com reports that the physics department, led by Nathan Magee, studied the rock and identified it as a stony chondrite, a primitive rock that makes up 85% of all meteorites found on Earth.
But that is not all. Jerry Delaney, a retired meteorite expert who had worked on the meteorite collection at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, helped determine this space rock's true nature.
The results were mind-blowing - the rock was around 4.6 billion years old, making it one of the oldest meteorites ever found on Earth.
This means that the meteorite was formed at the very beginning of our solar system, providing a rare glimpse into the early history of our corner of the universe. According to NASA, the solar system where Earth is located formed about 4.5 billion years ago from a dense cloud of interstellar gas and dust.
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A team led by Dr. Magee has identified a meteorite that crashed into Earth and landed in Titusville, NJ. This 2.2-pound meteorite has been dubbed Titusville, NJ, after the closest postal address to its landing site, the expert said in a statement.
Upon closer inspection, Magee's team found that the meteorite's top layer had a blackened crust that was a few millimeters thick, resulting from the intense heat generated when the rock entered Earth's atmosphere.
They also discovered that the meteorite's minerals are blue and gray, with a small amount of other metals mixed in, Magee confirmed with Space.com.
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Based on initial estimates, the meteorite belongs to the chondrite of class LL-6. This type of meteorite has less iron than other members of its family and is denser than the most common rocks on Earth, such as slate or granite, by at least 30 to 40%.
Before crashing onto Earth, the space rock had already undergone extreme temperatures and conditions in outer space that heavily altered its structure and composition. This is why it is not easy to distinguish individual grains or chondrules that make up the meteorite.
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