Scientists recently revealed that a meteorite that stole in the sky and crashed into a house in the United States in broad daylight on June 26 is older than planet Earth.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Space Rock exploded through the state of Georgia as soon as it crashed into McDonough’s house.
Researchers from the University of Georgia have examined a fragment of the rock and on the basis of the type of meteorite, they determined that it should have formed 4.56 billion years ago, which makes it approximately 20 million years more than the earth, the Bbc reported.
Hundreds of observations have been reported by residents of Georgia and neighboring states, alongside a booming noise while the fire ball was tearing the sky.
The rock, which quickly decreased in size and speed, still traveled at least one kilometer per second when it struck the roof of a man in the county of Henry.
Several fragments that struck the building were given to scientists, who analyzed their origins.
“This particular meteor which has entered the atmosphere has a long history before going to McDonough’s ground,” said Scott Harris, geologist at the University of Georgia.
Using optical and electronic microscopy, Harris and his team identified rock as chondrite, the most common type of stony meteorite, according to NASA. This confirmed its age of around 4.56 billion years.
The resident of the house said that he still found pieces of dust in the impact space. The object, now named McDonough Meteorite, is the 27th to recover in Georgia.
“This is something that expected once every few decades and not several times within 20 years,” said Harris. “Modern technology, in addition to an attentive audience, will help us recover more and more meteorites.”
Harris hopes to publish his conclusions on the composition and speed of the asteroid, which, according to him, will help understand the threat of future asteroids.
“One day, there will be an opportunity, and we never know when it will be, for something big to strike and create a catastrophic situation. If we can protect ourselves, we want it,” he concluded.
