A Houston woman is holding onto a piece of what officials now believe may be a meteor after a rock crashed through her home Saturday afternoon.
According to the Daily Mail, Sherrie James said the object tore through the roof and landed in her daughter’s bedroom. The rock reportedly slammed through the ceiling, hit the floor, bounced back up, struck the ceiling again, and then landed on the bed.
No one was inside the room at the time. No injuries were reported. James said she only realized something was wrong after her grandson went into the attic and noticed a hole in the roof.
Initially Thought to Be Plane Debris
Fire Captain Tyler Ellingham and his team initially told James the rock may have fallen from a plane. However, after further consideration, they revised their assessment and believed it was likely a meteor.
James says she plans to keep the rock.
Because once space drops something in your bedroom, that’s not yard debris anymore. That’s history.
NASA Confirms Meteor Activity
NASA confirmed that a meteor was visible in the sky above Stagecoach, a town located about 49 miles from Houston. Residents across the region reported hearing a loud “sonic boom” that shook their homes.
Witnesses also reported seeing the object streak across the sky in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
NASA stated the asteroid was approximately six feet in diameter and weighed several tons. It reportedly traveled at 45,000 miles per hour as it entered the atmosphere.
Community Shocked by Sonic Boom
People across multiple states reported hearing the blast. Some described it as an explosion. Others said their homes shook.
Sonic booms occur when an object travels faster than the speed of sound, creating a shockwave.
In this case, that shockwave may have marked the meteor’s final descent before fragments reached the ground.