Authorities find US home hit by meteorite

NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) A metallic rock that smashed through the roof of a home in New Jersey was a meteorite, authorities said.

The small, oblong rock, weighing 377 grams, crashed into a home in Freehold Township, 80 km south of New York, on Tuesday evening and was embedded in the wall on the top floor of the two-story house.

Lt. Robert Brightman, of Freehold Township police, said in a statement yesterday that a team of geologists from New Jersey State University Rutgers and an independent metallurgist had examined the object.

''The team has determined the meteorite is very metal-rich, and possibly represents the deep interior of an asteroid. Its coloration, markings, density and magnetic properties are characteristic of an iron meteorite,'' Brightman said.

He said the meteorite would provisionally be named ''Freehold Township,'' pending approval from an international committee.

REUTERS SP VC0947