An object about the size of a golf ball and weighing 13
ounces crashed through the roof of a Monmouth, NJ home at
approximately 9PM local time on Tuesday. The object was
tested by the Monmouth County Office of Emergency
Management and found not to be a radiation hazard. The FAA
determined that it was not metallic debris from an airplane.
The object struck the house with enough force to break
through the roof and ceiling, and shatter tile on a bathroom
floor.
In LiveScience.com, Chris Newmarker quotes local policeman
Robert Brightman as saying, "It's rather unusual. I haven't
seen anything like it in my career."
The object may be a meteor, but if so it is extremely unusual.
Meteors are commonly heated to more than 3000 degrees
Fahrenheit by a process called ram pressure as they enter
the atmosphere, but this object was not hot when it
impacted the house. Over 99% of meteoric objects are
composed either of iron and nickel, or are stony meteorites
that are composed of a mix of minerals including iron,
magnesium and others. Normally, meteors are blackened by
re-entry. There are three minor meteor showers and one
major one, the Quadrantids, in progress now, and the
Quadrantid shower reaches its maximum on January 2-4. It is
not associated with meteors reaching the ground, however,
but such an event is always possible. The object was not
observed prior to crashing through the roof. Unusually
composed meteors may be debris from celestial events, such
as supernovas.
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