Space Oddities | Rare Vehicles
It Came From Space
The Space Rock and a Car
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Many a space rock have made their marks throughout history, both literally and metaphorically. Just a month from today actually would mark 28 years since a particular hunk of rock not from this world had made such a lasting impression.
Today, I’m talking about the Peekskill meteorite of 1992.
The Descent
On the evening of October 9, 1992, an unusual yet exhilarating sight began to unfold. You see, a meteorite was observed streaking across the night sky in what was later described as a “huge greenish fireball.” Witnesses from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere got the ultimate treat as it continued hurtling through the atmosphere in search of its final destination. And when it eventually landed, that in and of itself would make it one for the records.
As it high-tailed across the sky, it then broke apart over Kentucky before passing over West Virginia and Pennsylvania during its north-northeast trajectory. It finally crash-landed in Peekskill, New York, at 7:50 EDT, where it struck through the trunk of a parked 1980 red Chevy Malibu.
It was later estimated to have traveled through space at a velocity of 8.8 miles per second (or 14 km/s). Its speed upon impact was also calculated to have slowed down to 164 mph.
The Videos
The meteorite’s unusual crash-landing spot wasn’t even the only notable aspect of the whole event.
As it happened, multiple high school football games were taking place around the same time from various locations such as Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, New York, and North Carolina. As a result, the space rock’s descent was immortalized on film by multiple video camcorders. A total of 16 different cameras ended up capturing the descent of one of the most historic meteorite events on record. As such, having multiple perspectives gifted…
