(meteorobs) Drying out a fresh meteorite

[Thomas Ashcraft]

I saw this story on the web this morning..... Tom

***********



http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/408918|top|06-13-2004::01:26|reuters.h
tml


Grapefruit-Sized Meteorite Smashes Through NZ Home
 


Jun 13, 1:17 AM (ET) 

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A grapefruit-sized meteorite smashed through the
roof of a New Zealand house, hitting a couch and bouncing off the ceiling
before coming to rest under a computer.
The 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) chunk of space debris dropped out of the sky and
plummeted through the tiled roof of the Auckland home Saturday.

"I was in the kitchen doing breakfast and there was this almighty
explosion," owner Brenda Archer told the Sunday Star-Times newspaper.

"It was like a bomb had gone off. I couldn't see anything, there was just
dust."

Archer's one-year-old grandson had been playing nearby minutes before it
hit.

It is only the ninth meteorite found in New Zealand and the first to hit a
home.

The Archers, who are following expert advice by drying the rock out in
their oven, plan to sell it or give it to a museum.

Experts believe the meteorite, a chunk of an asteroid, could be worth more
than NZ$10,000 ($6,290), the newspaper said.



.