A car that was found with a mysterious hole in its roof was probably not hit by a meteorite after tests found the stone recovered inside it to be a piece of common gravel.
Emergency services were called to the scene in Strasbourg last week in response to a callout due to smoke coming out of a gaping hole in a car roof.
Neighbours had reported hearing a ‘boom’ at around 7:00 on November 20.
Her analysis has since confirmed that the small stone was indeed just a piece of gravel.
“Following initial observations with a binocular microscope, the stone measuring around 1.5cm showed none of the characteristics of a meteorite,” said Ms Gollain’s report.
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The stone proved to be sedimentary and covered by crystalised strands of hydrocarbon - a piece of gravel from the road.
What could have caused the hole in the car’s roof?
The probability of a meteorite hitting a car is around 100 billion to one each year, says the report.
Indeed it mentions that there is only one confirmed case of this ever happening: in Peekskill in the US in 1992.
Ms Gollain’s report states there must be more likely - or less unlikely - explanations for the damage.
“The chance of this happening is significantly lower than that of a block of ice falling from an aircraft, which can form when planes go through clouds containing ice crystals. These can then fall from the plane.”
“It could also be from a plane draining its toilets.”
Planes do not intentionally drop frozen sewage but accidents can happen:
Between 1979 and 2003 there were 27 documented incidents of this in the US alone.
In 2018, a block of ice from a plane fell through the roof of a home in Bristol in the UK.
The authorities have yet to determine an official explanation for the damage to the car’s roof.
