Overview

• University of Georgia planetary geologist Scott Harris and Arizona State University colleagues plan to submit their findings to the Meteoritical Society’s Nomenclature Committee this month to formally designate the specimen the McDonough Meteorite.
• Examination of a 23-gram fragment under microscopes revealed it formed 4.56 billion years ago, roughly 20 million years before Earth’s formation.
• Isotopic and structural signatures link the rock to a breakup event in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter about 470 million years ago.
• The fragment, about the size of a cherry tomato, struck a McDonough homeowner’s roof on June 26 after breaking the sound barrier as it entered the atmosphere.
• Researchers say peer-reviewed publication of the analysis will offer fresh insights into primordial solar system materials and inform future impact risk models.