Meteorite Crashes Into House, Space Origin Of Rock Confirmed
A meteorite crashed into a house in Wolcott, Connecticut on Friday night. The story might sound a little whackadoo, but scientists at the Yale Peabody Museum (YPM) have now examined that destructive baseball-sized rock and confirmed that it came from outer space.
Homeowner Larry Beck heard the sound of what he thought was a joint snapping, but he didn’t enter the attic and discover the real culprit until Saturday morning. That’s when he called the Wolcott Police Department, although I’m not sure what he thought that the long arm of the law was supposed to do about it.
Considering the timing of the event on April 20, the rock that tore through Beck’s roof and kitchen ceiling may have been related to the Lyrid meteor shower that peaked last weekend.
Stefan Nicolescu, a mineralogy expert for YPM, said that the specimen had a black “fusion crust” that came from the skin being burned at high speed as the space rock entered the atmosphere.
Apparently, Connecticut is something of a shooting gallery for meteors. The first meteorite ever found in North America fell in Weston in 1807. Three other important meteorites have hit since, including two others that struck houses.
The Wolcott crash landing makes it a grand total of three homes in Connecticut that have now been hit by meteorites.
Friday night’s meteor shower was reportedly explosive enough to be heard 40 miles away, and there are six known places where meteorites fell, including the Beck home in Wolcott.
Of course, the burning issue for Larry Beck is: “Will my insurance cover this mess?”
After the infamous February meteorite strike in Russia, a lot of people were inspired to take a second look at their homeowner’s policies, which sometimes exclude so-called “acts of God.” CNN Money confirmed at that time that insurers have indeed traditionally paid out for those meteorite hits.
If you’re really worried, you should always check with your own insurance agent. However, if a meteorite crashes through your house, you’re probably covered.
[meteor photo courtesy Brocken Inaglory and Wikipedia Commons]
