{"id":593924,"date":"2026-07-19T19:14:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T19:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/593924\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T19:14:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T19:14:16","slug":"meteorite-strike-of-new-jersey-home-reveals-life-clues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/593924\/","title":{"rendered":"Meteorite strike of New Jersey home reveals life clues"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Hillsborough-meteorite-July-16-2024.jpg\" alt=\"Meteorite strike of New Jersey home: Gray chunk of rock that is more silvery on top, with a wrinkled texture.\" width=\"800\" height=\"611\" class=\"size-full wp-image-552685\"  \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seti.org\/media\/hk4lcjsh\/figure-4.jpg\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">View larger<\/a>. | Meteorite strike of New Jersey home! Here\u2019s the space rock itself. It crashed through the roof of a home in Hillsborough, New Jersey, on July 16, 2024. Now analysis of this rock has given us clues to life\u2019s origins. Image via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seti.org\/news\/alien-world-chemistry-found-inside-meteorite\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">SETI Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A meteorite crashed through the roof of a home<\/strong> in Hillsborough, New Jersey, on July 16, 2024. It was a piece of an asteroid, or space rock.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ongoing analysis of the meteorite<\/strong> shows that it contains various organic molecules: carbon-based molecules that are fundamental to all living organisms on Earth. <\/li>\n<li><strong>Plus the space rock showed the parent asteroid had a lot of briny water.<\/strong> That\u2019s exciting because concentrated salty water can drive chemistry that\u2019s difficult in fresh water.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/helpsupportearthsky.org\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Support science \u2026 support wonder. <strong>Donate to EarthSky and be part of something big.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Meteorite strike of New Jersey home<\/p>\n<p>On July 16, 2024, a meteorite crashed through the roof of a home in Hillsborough, New Jersey. Now, an international research team reports on their latest analysis of the meteorite and the surprises it contains. The researchers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seti.org\/news\/alien-world-chemistry-found-inside-meteorite\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a> on July 15, 2026, that it contains a diverse range of life\u2019s building blocks: carbon-bearing compounds, amino acids and other prebiotic molecules. <\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also evidence within this space rock for concentrated salty fluids \u2013 brines \u2013 on the original parent asteroid. It\u2019s a unique find, because this New Jersey meteorite was more heavily altered by briny water than most other meteorites of its type. (It does mirror similar salt deposits recently found on asteroids <a href=\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/space\/lifes-genetic-code-just-discovered-in-an-asteroid-sample\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Ryugu<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/space\/asteroid-bennu-samples-reveal-dramatic-solar-system-past\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Bennu<\/a>, both of which were explored by recent, historic robotic sample-return missions from space).<\/p>\n<p>The meteorite \u2013 named Hillsborough \u2013 was classified as a CM1\/2 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fossilera.com\/pages\/carbonaceous-chondrites-a-window-into-the-early-solar-system\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">carbonaceous chondrite<\/a>. The scientists who studied it say it likely originated in the inner <a href=\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/space\/what-is-the-asteroid-belt\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">asteroid belt<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seti.org\/people\/peter-jenniskens\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Peter Jenniskens<\/a> is a meteor astronomer at both NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center in California and the SETI Institute. He\u2019s lead author of the new study. He <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/science-research\/astromaterials\/nasa-study-of-pristine-meteorite-adds-to-story-of-ancient-asteroids\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>When we have both a documented fireball and a quick recovery of its meteorite, we can learn not only what the rock is made of, but where it came from in the asteroid belt.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The researchers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.aea2105\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">published<\/a> their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/content\/page\/peer-review-science-publications\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">peer-reviewed<\/a> findings in Science Advances on July 15, 2026.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"bluesky-embed\" data-bluesky-uri=\"at:\/\/did:plc:egpjeq4etdp6pkxqutll5wsd\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mqpfrpap452n\" data-bluesky-cid=\"bafyreidzbwa24u6xlpkb72ddxmmwtt2quhzfe5wjs7qiay724fyd5kv6nq\">\n<p>PRESS RELEASEOn July 16, 2024, a daytime meteor shook New York City with a sonic boom as it passed just south of the Statue of Liberty. Now, an international team of researchers reports in the journal Science Advances that a short time later, a more than two-pound meteorite crashed\u2026 ? ?<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:egpjeq4etdp6pkxqutll5wsd?ref_src=embed\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">SETI Institute (@setiinstitute.bsky.social)<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:egpjeq4etdp6pkxqutll5wsd\/post\/3mqpfrpap452n?ref_src=embed\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">2026-07-15T19:00:19.891Z<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"bluesky-embed\" data-bluesky-uri=\"at:\/\/did:plc:mhjqpvjvyzpj4pso7ux2tekh\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mqpewqy74v2k\" data-bluesky-cid=\"bafyreiduq2e24i2p62vcf2sim5nzdxn6wkrkeivensdc6coapti72rm46a\">\n<p>A meteorite that streaked over New York City and crashed into a New Jersey rooftop came from an asteroid that once had briny water beneath its surface.https:\/\/www.sciencenews.org\/article\/new-york-city-2024-meteorite-amino-acid<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:mhjqpvjvyzpj4pso7ux2tekh?ref_src=embed\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Science News (@sciencenews.bsky.social)<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:mhjqpvjvyzpj4pso7ux2tekh\/post\/3mqpewqy74v2k?ref_src=embed\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">2026-07-15T18:45:15.085407185Z<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Organics and ancient brines<\/p>\n<p>The researchers found a mosaic of tiny broken-up rocks inside the meteorite. And they noticed that some contained unusually high concentrations of sodium, which was unexpected for this type of meteorite. The researchers found a diverse collection of complex carbon-bearing compounds, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Amino_acid\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">amino acids<\/a> and other prebiotic molecules inside the meteorite. These are the building blocks of life (but not necessarily from life itself). Co-author and organic <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mass_spectrometry\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">mass spectrometry<\/a> specialist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.helmholtz-munich.de\/en\/bgc\/philippe-schmitt-kopplin\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Phil Schmitt-Kopplin<\/a> at Technical University Munich in Germany <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seti.org\/news\/alien-world-chemistry-found-inside-meteorite\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>A high fraction of compounds were the product of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acs.org\/careers\/chemical-sciences\/areas\/organic-chemistry.html\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">organic chemistry<\/a> with minerals. We do not know if these magnesium organic compounds were contributed by brine chemistry or were simply left over from earlier impact shock processes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>High concentrations of salt in <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Brine\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">brines<\/a> can help create some of the organic compounds. And indeed, the researchers found evidence for ancient brines. Microscopic fractures were filled with sodium-rich material left behind by the brines. These brines were just under the surface of the original parent asteroid of the meteorite. In fact, the meteorite had been more altered by briny water than has been seen in most other <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/CM_chondrite\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">CM-type meteorites<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Samples brought back to Earth from asteroids Ryugu and Bennu also showed similar alterations by briny water just below the surface. After the water evaporated, it left behind deposits of salts. The same thing happened on the parent asteroid of the Hillsborough meteorite. The researchers now want to compare those salts to the ones from Ryugu and Bennu. The said that they are similar, but not identical.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Hillsborough-meteorite-July-16-2024-2.jpg\" alt=\"A gray rock made of small rocks stuck together, 1 bigger chunk in the middle and many white flecks.\" width=\"800\" height=\"586\" class=\"size-full wp-image-552700\"  \/>A closer look at the Hillsborough  meteorite. Image via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seti.org\/news\/alien-world-chemistry-found-inside-meteorite\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">SETI Institute<\/a>.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Hillsborough-meteorite-hole-in-roof-July-16-2024.png\" alt=\"2 images, 1 exterior and 1 from inside attic, of a large hole in a house roof.\" width=\"800\" height=\"461\" class=\"size-full wp-image-552704\"  \/><a href=\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2026\/07\/Hillsborough-meteorite-hole-in-roof-July-16-2024-full-size.png\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">View larger<\/a>. | 2 views of the hole in the roof of the house made by the meteorite. Image via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seti.org\/news\/alien-world-chemistry-found-inside-meteorite\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">SETI Institute<\/a>.<br \/>\nDelivering life\u2019s building blocks to Earth<\/p>\n<p>Scientists have long hypothesized that asteroids and comets brought the organic building blocks of life to early Earth. As co-authors cosmochemist <a href=\"https:\/\/pure.royalholloway.ac.uk\/en\/persons\/queenie-hoi-shan-chan\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Queenie Chan<\/a> at Royal Holloway University in London, England, and biogeochemist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jamstec.go.jp\/biogeochem\/member\/ogawa\/index_e.html\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Nana Ogawa<\/a> at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology explained:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Isotope\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Isotope<\/a> studies of carbon and nitrogen suggest that primitive carbonaceous chondrites, including CM-types, delivered organic matter to the early Earth. The Hillsborough meteorite contained 1.8% by weight of carbon and 0.07% of nitrogen, and had carbon and nitrogen isotopes typical for CM-type meteorites.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Co-author <a href=\"https:\/\/science.gsfc.nasa.gov\/sci\/bio\/daniel.p.glavin\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Danny Glavin<\/a> is a senior scientist in the Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. He said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>It\u2019s just more proof that the chemical building blocks of life could have been delivered \u2013 and are still being delivered \u2013 to Earth today by these carbonaceous asteroid fragments.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Hillsborough-meteor-radar-detections-July-16-2024.jpg\" alt=\"Orbital view of green terrain with a long thin line crossing over it and pixelated areas along the line.\" width=\"800\" height=\"585\" class=\"size-full wp-image-552702\"  \/>This map shows the radar detections of the Hillsborough meteor on July 16, 2024. Image via <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/science-research\/astromaterials\/nasa-study-of-pristine-meteorite-adds-to-story-of-ancient-asteroids\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">NASA<\/a>\/ Marc Fries.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Peter-Jenniskens-NASA-SETI-Institute.png\" alt=\"Partly bald smiling man wearing a tan shirt.\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-full wp-image-552708\"  \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seti.org\/people\/peter-jenniskens\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Peter Jenniskens<\/a> at NASA and the SETI Institute led the new study about the Hillsborough meteorite. Image via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seti.org\/people\/peter-jenniskens\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">SETI Institute<\/a>.<br \/>\nPreserving a precious gift from the asteroid belt<\/p>\n<p>Co-author <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnh.org\/research\/staff-directory\/denton-s-ebel\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Denton Ebel<\/a>, curator of the American Museum of Natural History, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>We are thrilled that nature delivered such a precious asteroid sample on our doorstep.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Indeed. Right after the meteorite fell, the owner of the house used disposable gloves and aluminum foil to collect the meteorite fragments and place them in glass jars. He said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I was at home at the time, heard a loud crash and found a hole in the ceiling of the master bedroom. I smelled a strong sulfur-like odor and saw many black fragments along with debris and black dust that covered my bed, carpet and surrounding areas.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Scientists say that the original meteorite hit the atmosphere at 32,000 mph (14.3 kilometers per second). It weighed about the same as a heavy airline bag. There were 60 witnesses who reported seeing the meteor from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p>Co-author <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amsmeteors.org\/author\/mike-hankey\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Mike Hankey<\/a>, operations manager of the American Meteor Society, stated:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Our cameras in Northford, Connecticut, and Douglassville, Pennsylvania, as well as a doorbell camera in Wayne, New Jersey, captured the meteor, and from that we measured its trajectory. The path traced back to low in the asteroid belt.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The meteoric debris from the meteor stretched from Staten Island to New Jersey. The Hillsborough meteorite was the only one recovered.<\/p>\n<p>Following the water<\/p>\n<p>By tracing the history of water on primitive asteroids, scientists can learn more about how water and the chemical ingredients for life were distributed throughout the early solar system. Co-author <a href=\"https:\/\/astrobiology.nasa.gov\/nai\/directory\/zolensky-michale\/index.html\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Mike Zolensky<\/a>, a meteorite researcher at NASA Johnson Space Center, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>If you follow the water through the solar system, you\u2019re actually following life. Following the history of water through the solar system is an essential part of understanding the origin of life.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Bottom line: The New Jersey meteorite crashed through the roof of a house in 2024. A new study shows it contains various organic molecules and traces of ancient briny water.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.aea2105\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Source: Meteor over New York City: Brines in a primitive CM asteroid<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seti.org\/news\/alien-world-chemistry-found-inside-meteorite\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Via SETI Institute<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/science-research\/astromaterials\/nasa-study-of-pristine-meteorite-adds-to-story-of-ancient-asteroids\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Via NASA<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/space\/have-we-found-meteorites-from-mercury\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Read more: Meteorites from Mercury: Have we finally found some?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/space\/meteorites-that-hit-earth-carbon-water\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Read more: Most meteorites that hit Earth aren\u2019t typical. Why?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                    Paul Scott Anderson<br \/>\n                    <a href=\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/author\/paul-scott-anderson\/\" class=\"post-author-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">View Articles<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                    About the Author:<\/p>\n<p>Paul Scott Anderson has had a passion for space exploration that began when he was a child when he watched Carl Sagan\u2019s Cosmos. He studied English, writing, art and computer\/publication design in high school and college. He later started his blog The Meridiani Journal in 2005, which was later renamed Planetaria. He also later started the blog Fermi Paradoxica, about the search for life elsewhere in the universe.&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\nWhile interested in all aspects of space exploration, his primary passion is planetary science and SETI. In 2011, he started writing about space on a freelance basis with Universe Today. He has also written for SpaceFlight Insider and AmericaSpace and has also been published in The Mars Quarterly. He also did some supplementary writing for the iOS app Exoplanet.&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\nHe has been writing for EarthSky since 2018, and also assists with proofing and social media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"View larger. | Meteorite strike of New Jersey home! Here\u2019s the space rock itself. It crashed through the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":593925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[270],"tags":[9621,225518,6599,18,116528,19,17,251621,64472,133,451],"class_list":["post-593924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-asteroids","tag-brine","tag-earth","tag-eire","tag-hillsborough","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-new-jersey-meteorite","tag-organics","tag-science","tag-space"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116948243783277051","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/593925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=593924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=593924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}