Space Oddities | Rare Vehicles

It Came From Space

The Space Rock and a Car

Nicole Henley
4 min readSep 9, 2020

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Photography by Attila Adam

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)…

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Nicole Henley

Writer of true crime, unsolved mysteries, and marvels of history. Lover of movies, books, cats, and anime.