Residents across Houston were startled Saturday night when the sky suddenly lit up, followed by a loud sonic boom. The dramatic moment was later confirmed to have been caused by a meteor streaking through the atmosphere.
For one homeowner, the event became far more than just a spectacle in the sky. A fragment of the meteor tore through the roof of Sherrie James’ house, smashing through the attic floor before landing in a bedroom.
James said the experience was both shocking and surreal. “I’m a big sci-fi nut,” she told The Post. “I hoped it wasn’t an egg with something growing inside. I stayed away from it at first. I didn’t want to get radiation or be infected by an alien bug or anything.”
Scientists say such events are rare, though meteor sightings have been unusually frequent in recent weeks. A meteor reportedly landed in Ohio on March 17, while another was recorded in Germany earlier in the month. Meteorite hunter Roberto Vargas said the recent surge may be linked to Earth’s current position in space.
“We think the Earth is passing through debris fields. “There are things in space that are floating around. They bang into each other and sometimes pieces break off that are big enough to make it to the ground. But more often, they are just shooting stars or fireballs that burn out. Sometimes, it really is just a random coincidence.”
Meteorites typically originate from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and can be around 4.5 billion years old by the time they reach Earth. Similar meteor events have also been reported in Georgia, Alabama, and Arkansas over the past year.
For professional meteorite hunters like Vargas, such reports trigger immediate action. After a meteor struck the German city of Koblenz on March 8, Vargas quickly traveled to the area.
“I was in Germany one day after the meteorite fell,” he said. “I spent four or five days looking, but it was one stone that hit a house and the person living there wasn’t selling. We hunted the area [seeking other fragments] and nobody found anything. So, I came home.”
Soon afterward, news of the Ohio meteor prompted Vargas to drive eight hours from Connecticut to search for fragments there as well. Another hunter, Carl Dietrich, traveled from South Carolina and has already located two pieces.
“I’ve been in Ohio since the day after it fell. “So far, I’ve found two pieces. I’m basically looking at the ground trying to find black rocks.” Those “black rocks” can be extremely valuable, sometimes selling for about $200 per gram.
In Houston, James is now repairing the section of her roof damaged by a meteorite that weighed about 2 pounds. Experts say such rocks are mainly made of silicate minerals with traces of metallic iron.
Meteorites that strike buildings are known as “hammer stones,” making them particularly desirable to collectors. “Hammer stones are the most collectible of any meteorites,” Dr. Laurence Garvie, director of the Buseck Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University.
Still, Garvie emphasized that these events remain largely random. “It just happens that, right now, we have a few in populated regions. It’s purely random.” For James, the sudden attention has been overwhelming.
“My stomach has been in knots ever since,” she said. “We went out for dinner last night and I couldn’t eat. I have strange people coming up to my house [inquiring about the meteorite]. It just really makes me uncomfortable.”
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