Meteorite hits NZ home
2004-06-13 16:23
Auckland - A 1.3 kg meteorite has crashed through an Auckland home, hitting the couch and ending up under a computer, the Sunday Star Times reported.
It hit Phil and Brenda Archer's suburban Ellerslie home on Saturday morning and while they now have a large hole in their roof, they have been told the book-sized rock could be worth around 10 000 NZ dollars (6,000 US) to collectors.
"I was in the kitchen doing breakfast and there was this almighty explosion," Brenda said.
"It was like a bomb had gone off. I couldn't see anything, there was just dust."
She thought something had exploded in the ceiling but her husband saw a stone under the computer and it was hot to touch.
The rock hit her leather couch and bounced backup to the ceiling before rolling under the computer.
The Archer's one-year-old grandson Luca was playing nearby but was unhurt.
"He must have a guardian angel," Brenda said.
Auckland University meteorite expert Joel Schiff told the Sunday Star Times said the rock was "a national treasure" but said international collectors would offer big money for it.
He said the chondrite type meteor - meaning it was chipped off an asteroid - had probably hit the atmosphere the size of a basketball at 15 km per second before slowing to around 100-200 metres a second at impact.