Meteorite Crashed Through New Jersey Home Roof in 2024, Yielding Pristine Samples With Prebiotic Molecules

A meteorite tore through the roof of a home in Hillsborough, New Jersey, on July 16, 2024, shortly after a sonic boom shook the New York City area, @ABC reported. The homeowner heard the crash and discovered a hole in the master-bedroom ceiling. Black fragments, debris and dust covered the room, accompanied by a strong sulfur-like odor.

The homeowner collected the pieces using disposable gloves, aluminum foil and glass jars. Mike Zolensky of NASA's Johnson Space Center stated that the fragments are the most pristine CM1/2 meteorites known. Scientists later classified the object as a CM1/2 carbonaceous chondrite.

Researchers published their analysis in Science Advances on July 17, 2026. Peter Jenniskens, a meteor astronomer for NASA and the SETI Institute and lead author of the paper, reported that the fragments preserved material from a small primitive asteroid once soaked in concentrated salty fluids. The meteorite contained carbon-bearing compounds, amino acids and other prebiotic molecules.

The rock measured roughly the size of a heavy airline bag and entered the atmosphere at about 32,000 mph. Dozens of observers across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania reported the event to the American Meteor Society. Cameras in Northford, Connecticut, Douglassville, Pennsylvania, and a doorbell camera in Wayne, New Jersey, recorded images of the passage.

Mike Hankey, operations manager at the American Meteor Society, said the path traced back to low in the asteroid belt. The fragile rock broke into several pieces. Doppler weather radar at Newark Liberty International Airport detected a long cloud of pebbles falling from Staten Island to New Jersey.