CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – A 4.6 billion year old meteorite that traveled millions of miles through space before blowing through an attic in Northwest Georgia was unveilled by staff at the Tellus Science Museum this morning.
“It’s sort of interesting to ponder the journey this meteorite might have had,” said museum curator Julian C. Gray.
Experts estimate the the half-pound, peach sized space rock was traveling between 50,000 and 70,000 miles per hour when it entered the atmosphere on March 1, 2009. They estimate it was still moving at 200 to 300 miles per hour when it punctured a roof, bounced off of a joist, punched through a sheet rock ceiling and landed in a bedroom in a Cartesville home around 11 p.m. that night.
“I would suggest we all look at the fine print in our (insurance) policy,” joked Jose Santamaria, executive director for the museum.
The Cartersville rock, thought to have originated in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is the twenty-fifth meteorite found in Georgia.
Dave Gheesling, a founding member of the Georgia Meteorite Association, said space rocks likely fall undetected in many areas of the state and the region’s humidity plus the exposure to oxygen hasten their deterioration.
Held in a special air tight case, the meteorite will go on display at the museum Thursday.