Getting hit by a meteorite seems like one of those technically possible problems that belongs to somebody else. But a space rock blew up over Europe this weekend, dropped fragments onto a German town, and sent at least one piece straight through a house roof and into a bedroom. Which is a rough way to learn that astronomy can, in fact, become a personal issue.
The fireball flashed across the sky on March 8 at about 6:55 p.m. local time over Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany. The European Space Agency said the object glowed for around six seconds before breaking apart, and footage from the AllSky7 fireball network suggests the original rock was probably several meters across. ESA added that at least one house in Koblenz-Güls was reportedly hit by small meteorite fragments.
People across Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland saw it. The International Meteor Organization logged around 3,000 eyewitness reports, and some people reported hearing the atmospheric blast on the ground.Â
Play video
Fireball Over Europe Ends With Meteorite Punching Through Roof of House
According to reports by Space.com, one fragment punched a soccer-ball-sized hole in a roof and landed in an unoccupied bedroom. Photos from local coverage also showed several small rocks collected after the fall, though not every piece has been formally confirmed yet. No injuries have been reported, which is easily the best part of this crazy story.
Fireball meteors happen when incoming space rocks get superheated by friction in Earth’s atmosphere, according to the American Meteor Society. They can break apart in a bright flash, and while many fragments burn up before reaching the ground, some survive the trip. ESA said this object hadn’t been spotted before it entered the atmosphere, which it noted is normal. Only a small number of meteors have ever been detected before impact.
That last part is definitely the most unnerving detail. Scientists who spend their lives watching the sky still don’t catch most of these things before they arrive. Usually, that works out fine. This time, one of them made it all the way into somebody’s bedroom in Germany, which really should do wonders for the resale listing.