A mysterious extraterrestrial visitor now has a permanent home and identity, thanks to University of Georgia researchers.
The newly named McDonough Meteorite crash landed in Atlanta on June 26 after catching eyes across the Southeast as the fireball streaked through the daytime sky.
Multiple fragments, which tore through a residential roof in Henry County, were turned over to a UGA planetary geologist and impact expert to determine its origin and classification.
And it turns out these new chunks are actually quite old.
“This particular meteor that entered the atmosphere has a long history before it made it to the ground of McDonough, and in order to totally understand that, we actually have to examine what the rock is and determine what group of asteroids it belongs to,” said Scott Harris, a researcher in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Department of Geology.
Although the pieces that fell eventually diminished in size, Harris says it’s useful to consider how the planet might handle a much larger inbound space rock.
To learn more about the meteorite, watch the video above or read the full story published recently on UGA Today.
