Meteorite hits a house in Thailand

According to the Bangkok Post, a mysterious rock, believed to be a meteorite, crashed through the roof of a house in Phitsanulok's Muang district on Tuesday, June 28, 2016. An initial investigation concluded the object could very likely be a meteorite. Nobody was injured.

"The suspected meteorite fell through the roof of a home in Plai Chumphon sub-district at 07:26 ICT (00:26 UTC) on June 28, hit a wall and then bounced to the floor, breaking into five pieces," BP's Chinnawat Singha writes.

"I was having breakfast when there was a loud bang, like a gunshot sound. I looked around and found a rock about the size of an egg and some fragments nearby. I picked up the largest chunk and let go quickly as it was very hot," 65-year-old home-owner Bualom Chalomprai said.

Meteorite that hit a house in Thailand on June 28, 2016. Credit: Thairath

An initial investigation by the department of physics at the Naresuan University concluded the object could very likely be a meteorite given its features and the circumstances under which it had been found. "The rock's crust was charcoal black, indicating it had been burned entering Earth's atmosphere at very high speeds," the department's head, Sarawut Tuantam, said. 

The test has also found the chunk contains a large amount of iron and is attracted by a magnet.

Featured image: Meteorite crash damage – Thailand – June 28, 2016. Credit: Thairath