Georgia home meteorite dates to 4.56 billion years ago

A cherry tomato-sized fireball that pierced a metro Atlanta home is identified as a 4.56 billion-year-old meteorite.

Meteorite that hit Georgia home dates to 4.56 billion years ago

A cherry tomato-sized fireball crashed through the roof of a metro Atlanta home in June and was later identified as a meteorite formed about 4.56 billion years ago. University of Georgia planetary geologist Scott Harris examined 23 grams of fragments from the rock and confirmed the age, placing it among material that once drifted in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

The team plans to propose the name McDonough Meteorite to the nomenclature committee of the Meteorological Society. Officials noted that the rock was part of a witnessed fall and that space dust continues to appear in the homeowner's living room. The incident shows how advances in technology and public reporting help scientists recover meteorites and study their origins to understand possible threats from larger asteroids.

This local event connects a neighborhood to the long history of the solar system. It also highlights how technology and citizen sightings expand what science can learn from space rocks. While the science is fascinating, the case underscores the need for careful science communication about planetary defense and the limits of what a single fall can tell us.

Highlights

The night sky still hides its secrets and curiosity keeps science awake