Woman’s payday after mysterious green meteorite pieces crashes into home

A Russian woman whose roof was pierced by a meteorite after a vivid green fireball streaked across the sky has sold the rare space rock to scientists.

After reading earlier coverage of a bright object seen flying over Moscow and other regions on 27th October, the woman from Okulovka, Novgorod Region, noticed damage on her roof.

She found a grey object that resembled a bag of cement that had broken through her roofing material.

Scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Geochemistry Institute (GEOKHI RAS) bought the fragments from her for an undisclosed sum.

The object was a stony meteorite, known as a chondrite, according to experts.

The object’s temperature and composition made it appear green as it fell, according to researchers.

They added that the sample contained iron and nickel-bearing particles – consistent with ordinary chondrites.

They said in a statement on November 15: ‘It was confirmed that it was indeed a meteorite, and due to the uniqueness of the event, a coordinated decision was made to remove the damaged section of the roof so that it could later be displayed in an exhibition.’

This confirmation of the object being a meteorite rules out speculation that the flying object was the Burevestnik missile, dubbed the ‘Flying Chernobyl’ – a nuclear-capable weapon which Putin claims is unstoppable.

A press conference will be held on Thursday, November 20, at 3pm, where details of the meteorite fall and search efforts will be presented.

The first of their research data is also expected to be shown at the conference.

The meteorite appeared fractured, possibly due to an earlier impact on its parent asteroid, researchers said.

Additional fragments are being searched for in several regions.

Residents have been urged to inspect roofs, gardens and fields for any fragments so they can be checked with specialists.

This is not the first time a similar sighting has been seen shooting across the sky, with stargazers witnessing a bright green flash in London last month.

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