OLDER THAN EARTH METEORITE HIS HOUSE IN GEORGIA
By :Sophia Wang
On June 26, a fireball shot through the sky near the southern U.S.A. and landed in McDonough, Georgia. People from 7 different states noticed its sudden appearance.
Most of the meteor crumbled away in the atmosphere, but one small portion of the rock broke into a house. Scientists state that the meteor might be even older than Earth itself! Many meteors make an occasional appearance, but most burn away in the atmosphere. A few of the larger meteors hit Earth, where they are now called meteorites. Whenever these rocks fall through the atmosphere, they give off a bright, fiery orange glow like a trail of fire. This particular meteorite was so bright you could see it in broad daylight. Bright enough that it allowed you to take pictures of it on your phone.
Its impact on the ground was so hard that many people within the area thought it was an earthquake. The meteor traveled faster than sound, making a sonic boom when it reached Earth. Several bits of the meteor tore through the roof of a house in McDonough, Georgia. One piece the size of a cherry tomato landed just 14 feet away from the owner of the house. The impact left a dent in the floor larger than a U.S. quarter.
Scientists of the University of Georgia had a conversation with the owner to learn more about the impact and the meteorite. According to Scott Harris, a geologist at UGA, claimed that the space rock was traveling as fast as 2,237 mph. Using powerful microscopes, he confirmed that the meteorite was a Chondrite. Chondrite is a type of space rock made up of material so ancient it might be as old as the solar system! Mr. Harris says that this meteorite is 4.56 billion years old, 20 million years older than Earth (Which is about 4.54 billion years old). Scientists say this rock may have originally come from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and that the rock probably broke up into pieces 470 million years ago.
Scientists are continuing to study this incredible find of space study. Mr. Harris expects to officially name this little meteorite the McDonough Meteorite, since that’s where the meteor first landed. Scientists will make further use of this rock to expand our knowledge in the vast world beyond our atmosphere.
