A metallic object, celebrated as a rare “meteorite,” that crashed through the roof of an Indian couple’s home in New Jersey earlier this year is “orbital debris,” most likely from a satellite or a rocket, according to geologists.
Although scientists had initially determined it was a meteorite after visual examinations, diagnostic tests at the American Museum of Natural History in New York concluded otherwise. Nageswaran accepted the findings philosophically, “That’s the nature of science. If the conclusion from the test says it’s not a meteorite, then it’s not a meteorite.” Nevertheless, “It’s still the world’s most popular metallic object that fell from the sky,” he pointed out. |