A close encounter of another kind.
A metallic object that punched a hole though the roof of a New Jersey home earlier this week was a meteorite, experts announced.
The metallic object crashed into a Hopewell Township, New Jersey, home on May 8 and went through the roof and smashed into a hardwood floor and bounced around a bedroom, came from outer space and was a meteorite, said scientists who confirmed the news Thursday, according to Associated Press.
Scientists with the College of New Jersey determined the 6-by-4-inch object, which weighs about 2.2 pounds, is a rare stony chondrite meteorite, Associated Press reported.
The scientists were given the space rock on May 8 after police in the town posted on social media that it could have been a meteorite that crashed into the family’s home but could not confirm it.
The College of New Jersey's Department of Physics says the rock is a 2.2-pound stony chondrite meteorite that is approximately 4.56 billion years old. They say only about 1,100 have ever been found and are known to scientists, CBS News reported.
“Getting the chance to examine the meteorite (Wednesday) was a rare and thrilling opportunity for me, as well as for a group of physics students and professors at TCNJ,” Nathan Magee, chair of the school’s physics department told the Associated Press. “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.”
The family that owns the home discovered the black, potato-sized rock in a bedroom around 12:30 p.m. Monday. They said the rock was still warm and experts believe it hit the home a short time before it was found, Associated Press reported.
Nobody was hurt, and there was no serious damage to the residence, said police in Hopewell Township.
