The Fireball of August 18, 1873,
near Newark-on-Trent, England.
Etching by Henry Robinson.
Meteorite Targets:
Keep Watching the Skies!
From time-to-time meteorites have struck man-made objects such as houses, roads, cars, and even a mailbox (Claxton, 1984), humans (Sylacauga, 1954) and cows (Valera, 1972)! Here is a listing of meteorites that have hit Humans, animals and/or man-made objects (HAMs)!
If you know of any documented hits not listed here or if you know of any errors in this list, please email the webmaster:
Chronological Listing of Meteorites That Have Struck
Humans, Animals and Man-Made Objects (HAMs)
Originally compiled by Walter Branch, Ph.D. , Updated by Ken Newton
Note that this list is admittedly not complete and is constantly “under construction.”
I have also taken the liberty of not listing those reports which are so incredulous as to be unbelievable,
the reported details of which led me to believe that the report was inaccurate. Of course, there may be
reported hits in the table below which are inaccurate but they are extremely difficult to verify or disprove.
Meteorite names are taken from Grady, Monica M. (2000) Catalog of Meteorites,
5th edition, Cambridge University Press.
Page Frequency Count |
Number of Humans Reportedly Hit: 14 Number of Animals Reportedly Hit: 6 Number of Objects Reportedly Hit: 110 |
It should come as no surprise that more man-made objects have been hit than either people or animals. The most frequent object reported being hit by a meteorite is a building, and generally speaking, buildings tend to be larger targets. |
Hits by Quarter Century
2000- | 19 | ******************* |
1975-1999 | 33 | ********************************* |
1950-1974 | 29 | ***************************** |
1925-1949 | 15 | *************** |
1900-1924 | 10 | ********** |
1875-1899 | 8 | ******** |
1850-1874 | 6 | ****** |
1825-1849 | 3 | *** |
1800-1824 | 4 | **** |
1775-1799 | 2 | ** |
pre-1775 | 1 | * |
contemporaneously more reported hits. This trend would most likely reflect increased population
density and not necessarily an increased influx of meteorites entering the Earth’s atmosphere.
Meteorites have been falling on the Earth for literally billions of years, and the mere 200-year timespan
reflected in the above table would be an insufficient time to detect an overall change in the flux rate.
Indeed, the rate of meteorites entering the Earth’s atmosphere has no doubt
decreased since the time of heavy bombardment, approximately 3.8 to 4 billion years ago.
(Unless something really big happens!)
Last Update: Jan 24, 2010
Date | Meteorite Name | Location | Object Hit | Reference |
Jan 18, 2010 | Lorton (provisional name) | Lorton, Virginia, USA | A lemon-sized stone went though roof of doctor’s office. | 50 |
Sept 25, 2009 | Grimsby | Grimsby, Ontario | A golf ball-sized stone cracked car windshield and dented garage door. | 46 |
Feb 15, 2009 | Ash Creek | McLennan County, Texas, USA | Farm house roof was struck | 38 |
Nov 20, 2008 | Buzzard Coulee | Wilton Rural Municipality, Saskatchewan, Canada | A small meteorite reportedly hit barn roof. | 49 |
April 12, 2008 | Zunhua (unclassified) | Zunhua City, Hebei province, China | Meteorite went through farmhouse tile roof and hit floor, mirror and bed frame | 38 |
April 6, 2008 | Berduc | Colonia Berduc, Argentina | Stones pelted residentials & commercial roof, greenhouse, road (no reported damage) | 38 |
July 6, 2007 | Cali | Cali, Colombia | Several stones fell pentrating residential metal roofs and breaking a roof tile. | 38 |
Feb 21, 2007 | Mahadevpur | Mahadevpur, Near Namsai Town, Arunachal Pradesh, India | A 3.4 kg piece fell through the roof of a house and into the living room. | 48 |
July 31, 2006 | Jodiya | Jodiya, Jamnagar District, Gujarat, India | Several stones fell on rooftops of houses and/or courtyards | 48 |
July 14, 2006 | Moss | Moss, Rygge, Ostfold, Norway | Several stones fell damaging a commercial roof, a sheet of corrugated metal, impacting a parking lot, a tree limb | 30, 38, 42 |
November 8, 2004 | Orlando | Orlando, Florida, USA | A single stone fell hit top of car and side of house | 37 |
June 12, 2004 | Ellerslie (provisional name) | Auckland, New Zealand | A single stone fell through the roof of a house and hit sofa | 29 |
September 27, 2003 | Kendrapara | Kendrapada and Mayurbhanj districts, India | Several stones reportedly hit several villagers homes. In addition, an elderly man reportedly died of a heart attack as a result of being frightened by the fall. | 24 |
September 23, 2003 | New Orleans | New Orleans, LA, USA | A single stone reportedly fell through the roof of a house, destroyed a desk and other items, passed through the floor and ended up underneath the house. Some additional material (~100 g) was also recovered in the surrounding neighborhood. | 24, 38 |
March 26, 2003 | Park Forest | South Chicago, USA | Of many stones, several hit houses, a car, a road and a fire station. | 22 |
February 1-3, 2003 | Hiroshima | Chugoku, Japan | The meteorite hit a warehouse roof and was found a day or two later on the floor of the warehouse by workers | 34, 36 |
July 21, 2002 | Thuathe | near Masera, Lesotho | Of many stones, several reportedly hit houses | 21, 38 |
February 20, 2002 | San Michele | Pesaro Urbino, Marche, Italy | stone found in roof of building | 41 |
February, 2002 | Alby sur Cheran | Haute Savoie, France | stone found in roof of building | 39 |
December 14, 1999 | Dunbogan | Dunbogan, New South Wales, AU | Stone crashed through house roof | 16, 31 |
September 26, 1999 | Kobe | Tsukushigaoka, Kita-ku, Kobe, Japan | Kobe hit a tiled roof of a house and penetrated, then crash through the ceiling of a bedroom and landed in a 13-year-old girl`s bed. | 35, 36 |
June 13, 1998 | Portales Valley | Portales, New Mexico, USA | Of many stones, at least one hit a barn roof. | 6 |
March 22, 1998 | Monahans | Monahans, Texas, USA | Of two stones, one hit a street. | 17 |
December 13, 1997 | Vissannapeta | Andhra Pradesh, India | A single stone hit a roof. | 10 |
September 1, 1997 | Worden | Near Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA | A single stone reportedly struck a garage and a car | 23 |
February 15, 1997 | Juancheng | Shandong Province, China | At least one stone fell through a roof and hit a pot on a stove. | 7, 17 |
October 21, 1996 | Turtle Lake | Clayton, Wisconsin, USA | A single stone reportedly fell on a parked car’s windshield. | |
January 7, 1996 | Tsukuba | Kanto, Japan | One stone hit a tile roof of a vehicle repair shop. | 32, 33, 36 |
February 18, 1995 | Neagari | Nomi-gun, Ishikawa-ken, Japan | A single stone fell through the trunk of a parked car. | 4, 13, 17, 45 |
October 20, 1994 | Coleman | Coleman, Michigan, USA | A single stone fell through a roof | 11, 4 |
June 14, 1994 | St. Robert | St. Robert, Canada | Of several stones, one reportedly hit a roof. | |
December 10, 1992 | Mihonoseki | Honshu, Japan | A single stone fell through the roof of a two-story house and reportedly penetrated both floors and was found the next day under the house. | 17 |
October 9, 1992 | Peekskill | Peekskill | A single stone hit a car. | 4, 5, 15 |
August 14, 1992 | Mbale | Uganda | Numerous stones hit buildings and a boy was reportedly struck. | 5, 17 |
March 26, 1991 | Tahara | Tahara-machi, Japan | A single stone fell on a car carrier. | 14 |
September 4, 1990 | Burnwell | Pike County, Kentucky, USA | A single stone fell through the porch of a house. | 9, 17 |
April 7, 1990 | Glanerbrug | Glanerbrug, The Netherlands | Building | 1, 5 |
August 15, 1989 | Sixiangkou | Jiangsu, China | Stone hit roof | 1, 5 |
June 12, 1989 | Opotiki, New Zealand | Building | 1, 5 | |
May 18, 1988 | Torino | Torino, Italy | Building | 1, 5 |
March 1, 1988 | Trebbin | Trebbin, Potsdam district, East Germany | Greenhouse | 1, 5 |
July 29, 1986 | Kokubunji | Kokubunji-cho, Ayauta-gun, Kagawa prefecture, Shikok, Japan | Many stones struck tiled roofs and paved roads. | 1, 4, 5, 17 |
April, 1986 | Sayama | Saitama Prefecture, Japan | Residential roof hit | 16 |
January 6, 1985 | La Criolla | La Criolla, Entre Rios province Argentina | Farmhouse roof and door. | 1, 5 |
December 10, 1984 | Claxton | Claxton Evans Co., Georgia, USA | A single stone hit a metal mailbox. | 1, 4 |
August 22, 1984 | Tomiya | Tomiya-ho, Kurokawa, Miyagi-ken, Honshu, Japan | A single stone fell on the veranda of a house and another stone was found on the roof of a nearby house. | 1, 4, 5 |
June 30, 1984 | Aomori | Aomori city, Aomori-ken, Honshu, Japan | A single stone fell through the roof of a printing shop. | 1, 4, 5 |
November 8, 1982 | Wethersfield (1982) | Wethersfield, Connecticut, USA | A single stone fell through the roof of a house. | 1, 4, 5 |
November 17, 1981 | Chiang Khan | Chiang Khan, Loei Thailand | Several stones reportedly hit a fisherman in his boat | 27 |
May 11, 12 or 13, 1981 | Salem | Marion Co., Oregon, USA | One or possibly two stones fell on the roof of a house. | 1, 4 5 |
October, 1978 | Walnut Hill | North Yarmouth, Cumberland Co., Maine, USA | A single 220 gram stone penetrated the roof of a shed (actually a chicken coup). | 25, 26 |
January 31, 1977 | Louisville | Jefferson Co., Kentucky, USA | Three buildings and a car were struck. | 1, 5, 15 |
August 18, 1974 | Naragh | Naragh, Iran | A single stone hit the roof of a school building. | 1,4, 5 |
October 27, 1973 | Canon City | Fremont Co., Colorado, USA | A single stone fell through the roof of a garage. | 1, 4, 5, 16 |
March 15, 1973 | San Jaun Capistrano | San Jaun Capistrano, CA, USA | Two fragments were recovered after falling through the roof of a carport. | 1, 4, 5 |
October 15, 1972 | Valera | Trujillo, Venezuela | A single stone struck and killed a cow. | 16 |
August 2, 1971 | Havero | Finland | A single stone fell through the roof of a farm building. | 1, 4, 5 |
April 8, 1971 | Wethersfield (1971) | Hartford Co., Connecticut, USA | A single stone fell through the roof of a house. | 1, 4, 5 |
1970 | Wernigerode | Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany | complete crusted stone found in the attic of a house below a roof damaged in the Second World War | 40 |
September 28, 1969 | Murchison | Victoria, Australia | Building | 1, 5 |
September 16, 1969 | Suchy Dul | near Police, Nachod district, Czechoslovakia | A single stone hit the roof of a house. | 1, 4, 5 |
August 7, 1969 | Andreevka | Slaviansky district, Donetsk region, Ukraine, USSR | A single stone fell through the roof of a house. | 1, 4, 5 |
April 25, 1969 | Bovedy | County Londonderry, Northern Ireland | One of two stones fell through an asbestos roof. | 1, 4, 5 |
February 8, 1969 | Allende | Allende, Mexico | Out of a very large fall, at least one stone hit a patio and one hit a rooftop | 8 |
August 10, 1968 | Piancaldoli | Piancaldoli, near Florence, Italy | Three fragments were found on the roof of a house | 44 |
April 12, 1968 | Schenectady | Glenville, New York, USA | A single stone struck the roof of a house. | 1, 4, 5 |
July 11, 1967 | Denver | Denver Co., Colorado, USA | A single stone was found on the roof of a warehouse that may have fallen during the preceding week. | 1, 4, 5 |
December 24, 1965 | Barwell | Leicestershire, England | Two buildings and a car were reportedly struck. | 1, 5, 15 |
April 26, 1962 | Kiel | Schleswig-Holstein, Germany | A single stone fell through the roof of a house. | 1, 4, 5, 17 |
September 9, 1961 | Bells | Grayson Co., Texas, USA | Building | 1 |
February 23, 1961 | Ras Tanura | Dakhran, Saudi Arabia | A loading dock was reportedly struck | 1, 5 |
March 5, 1960 | Gao | Burkina Faso, West Africa | Many stones reportedly crashed through roofs of native huts (19) and hen houses (20). | 19, 20 |
October 13, 1959 | Hamlet | Starke Co., Indiana, USA | A single stone struck a house. | 1, 4, 5 |
February 29, 1956 | Centerville | Centerville, South Dakota, USA | A single stone fell through the roof of a shed. | 1, 4 |
February 19, 1956 | SINNAI | Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy | meteorite penetrated through the roof and the floor of one hut | 43 |
January 17, 1955 | Kirkland – pseudometeorite | Kirkland, Washington, USA | Two irons reportedly struck an amateur astronomers observatory. Later discovered to be Canyon Diablos.(see correction- last entry) | 4, 5, 17,47 |
November 30, 1954 | Sylacauga | Talladega Co., Alabama, USA | A single stone fell through the roof of a house and struck a woman. | 1, 4, 5 |
December 10, 1950 | St. Louis | St. Louis Co., Missouri, USA | A single stone hit a car. | 1, 4, 5, 15 |
September 20, 1950 | Murray | Calloway Co., Kentucky, USA | Buildings (5) | 1, 5 |
May 23, 1950 | Madhipura | Bhagalpur district, Bihar, India | A single stone fell through the roof of a shed. | 1, 4, 5 |
November 20, 1949 | Kochi – Doubtful Stone | Kochi-Ken, Shikoku, Japan | Although it’s origin is doubtful, a single stone reportedly fell through the window of a house. | |
September 21, 1949 | Beddgelert | Gwynedd, Wales | A single stone fell through the roof of a hotel. | 1, 4, 5 |
June 11, 1949 | Kunashak | Chelyabinskaya oblast’, Russia | A roof damaged. | 28 |
November 30, 1946 | Colford, Gloucestershire, UK | A boy was reportedly knocked off a bicycle. | 5 | |
May 16, 1946 | Santa Ana, Nuevo Leon, Mexico | Many houses were reportedly destroyed and 28 people injured. | 5 | |
Note that meteorite collector Doug Dawn indicates this most likely may have been reported in error, due to a mistranslation of the word “meteorological” – Personal Communication, January 30, 2004. I am including it here, to encourage more research, but NOT in frequency count tables. | ||||
September 29, 1938 | Benld | Macoupin Co., Illinois, USA | A single stone fell through the roof a garage and struck a car. | 1, 4, 5, 15 |
Summer, 1938 | Bloomington | McClean Co., Illinois, USA | Two fragments were thought to have fallen onto the back porch of a house. | 1, 4 |
June 24, 1938 | Chicora, Pennsylvania, USA | A cow was struck and injured. | 5 | |
June 16, 1938 | Pantar, Phillipines | Buildings (several) | 1, 5 | |
March 31, 1938 | Kasamatsu | Hashima, Gifu, Honshu, Japan | Stones reportedly fell through the roof of a house (1) and possibly a ship (5) | 1, 4, 5, 17 |
April 2, 1936 | Yurtuk | Lubimov, Ukraine, USSR | Of several stones, one fell through the roof of a house. | 1, 4, 5 |
March 14, 1936 | Red Bank, New Jersey, USA | A stone reportedly fell through the roof of a shed. | 5 | |
August 10, 1932 | Archie | Cass County, Missouri, USA | Building | 1 |
April 28, 1927 | Aba – psuedometeorite | Aba, Japan | A single stone reportedly struck a girl | 5 |
July 6, 1924 | Johnstown | Weld Co., Colorado, USA | Stones struck the roofs of houses. | 12 |
December 21, 1921 | Beyrout | Beyrout, Lebanon | A single stone fell through the roof of a hut. | 1, 4, 5 |
June 30, 1918 | Richardton | Stark County, North Dakota, USA | Building | 1, 5 |
December 3, 1917 | Strathmore | Perthshire, Scotland | Of four recovered stones, a single stone fell through the roof of a house. | 1, 5 |
January 18, 1916 | Baxter | Stone County, Missouri, USA | A single stone fell through the roof of a house | 1, 4 |
July 19, 1912 | Holbrook | Navajo County, Arizona, USA | Building | 1 |
June 28, 1911 | Nakhla | Abu Hommos, Alexandria Egypt | One several stones, one reportedly killed a dog. | 15, 17 |
Note that meteorite collector Kevin Kichinka reports that there is some dispute as to whether or not a dog was actually killed. Mainly for historical reasons and to promote further research, I am including this here as well as the frequency count tables. | ||||
June 16, 1911 | Kilbourn | Columbia County, Wisconsin, USA | A single stone fell through the roof of a barn. | 1, 4, 17 |
September 5, 1907 | Hsin-p ai Wei, Weng-li, China | A whole family was reportedly crushed by a meteorite | 5 | |
November 4, 1906 | Diep River | Cape Province South Africa | A single stone fell through the roof of a house. | 1, 4 |
March 11, 1897 | New Martinsville, West Virginia | A man was reportedly struck, a horse killed, and walls pierced. | 5 | |
September 22, 1893 | Zabrodje | Minsk Region, Belorussiya, USSR | A single stone fell through the roof of a house. | 1, 4, 5 |
November 19, 1881 | Grossliebenthal | Odessa, Kherson, Ukraine, USSR | Building | 1, 5 |
June 4, 1880 (est) | Whitestone Township, Australia | A man was reportedly struck and killed by a single iron meteorite. | 18 | |
November 12, 1879 | Huang-hsiang, China | Houses damaged by numerous stones | 5 | |
January 31, 1879 | Dun-le-Poelier, France | A farmer was reportedly killed by a meteorite. | 5 | |
February 16, 1876 | Judesegeri | Judesegeri, India | Village Water Tank | 1, 4, 5 |
June 30, 1874 | Chun-kuei Shan, Ming-tug Li, China | A single stone reportedly fell through a cottage and killed a child | 5 | |
December 12, 1872 | Banbury, England | A meteorite reportedly hit a wall | 5 | |
January 23, 1870 | Nedagolla | Nedagolla, India | A man was reportedly struck by a meteorite | 5 |
August 8, 1863 | Pillistfer | Pillistfer, Estonia | Building | 1 |
May 1, 1860 | New Concord | New Concord, Ohio, USA | Reportedly killed a horse. | 1, 3, 4 |
December 9, 1858 | Ausson | Ausson, France | Building | 1 |
July 14, 1847 | Braunau | Braunau, Czechoslovakia | Building | 1 |
November 11, 1836 | Macau | Macau, Brazil | Reportedly killed several cattle | 1 |
February 16, 1827 | Mhow | Mhow, India | Reportedly wounded a man | 1, 4, 17 |
November 10, 1823 | Wasada, Japan | A meteorite struck a house | 5 | |
June 19, 1809 | Off the coast of Rhode Island, USA | Out of many that fell, a single stone reportedly hit the deck of a ship at sea, but was subsequently lost. | 1 | |
December 14, 1807 | Weston | Weston, CT, USA | Building | 2 |
December 13, 1803 | Massing | Massing, Czechoslovakia | Building | 1 |
December 19, 1798 | Benares (a) | Benares, India | Building | 1 |
July 24, 1790 | Barbotan | Barbotan, France | Building | 1 |
May 19, 861 | Kyushu, Japan | A single stone reportedly penetrated the roof of s shrine | 27 | |
References
1 | Spratt, C. & Stephens, S., Against all Odds: Meteorites that have Struck Home, Mercury: the Journal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Vol. XXI, Number 2 (March/April, 1992), p. 50-56. |
2 | Nininger, H. H., 1972. Find a Falling Star. Erickson |
3 | E.B. Andrews et al., A. J. Sci., 1860, 30, p.103, 296. |
4 | Astronomical Research Networks History of Meteorites, 1997, Kenneth Regelman |
5 | Lewis, John A., Rain of Fire and Ice. 1996. Addison Wesley. |
6 | Today, March 26, 1998 |
7 | Meteoritical Bulletin # 82, July 1998 |
8 | Clark, Roy S. The Allende Mexico, Meteorite Shower. Smithsonian Contributions to the Earth Sciences 1970 #5 pp 15 |
9 | The Meteoritical Bulletin No 82, July 1998 |
10 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 83, July 1999 |
11 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 80, July 1996 |
12 | H. H. Nininger, Out of the Sky, page 18. |
13 | Akira Ishiwatari, Keiichi Sasatani, Kazue Tazaki, Koh Sakamoto, Takashi Nakanishi, Kazuhisa Komura, Tatsuki Tsujimori, Yasuji Oura, Yutaka Miyamoto, Hisatada Akahane, Makoto Watanabe and Katsushi Nunomura, Earth Science (Chikyu Kagaku), vol. 49, no. 3, 179-182 (1995) |
14 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 75, 1993 |
15 | Meteorite, Vol 7, No. 1, 2001 |
16 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 85, September 2001 |
17 | Monica M. Grady, 2000, Catalog of Meteorites, 5th edition, Cambridge University Press. |
18 | English Mechanic and World of Science, No 793, June 4, 1880. |
19 | Personal Communication, Robert Haag, June 3, 2002 |
20 | Meteorites and Planetary Science, 33, A181-A182, 1998. |
21 | Mike Farmer and Eric Olson (recoverers), personal communication, March 5, 2003. |
22 | Various Chicago area print and online news reports. |
23 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 85, 2001 |
24 | Mike Farmer, Personal Communication, September 30, 2003 |
25 | Russ Kempton, Personal Communication, April 19, 2004. |
26 | Meteoritics, May, 1993, p. 696. |
27 | Martin Altman, Personal Communication, April 28, 2004 |
28 | Fersman Museum, website photo |
29 | Aug. 2004 issue of Meteorite, article by Brenda Archer; Summer 2005 issue of Inside Smithsonian Research (No. 9, p. 16), article by John Barrat; various New Zealand area print, and online news reports. |
30 | Various Norwegian area print and online news reports. |
31 | Records of the Australian Museum (2002) Vol. 54: 249?254. ISSN 0067-1975 |
32 | Recent Meteorites and Meteoritic Fireballs in Nippon (after 1985) |
33 | The Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ) |
34 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 87, 2003 July |
35 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 84, 2000 August |
36 | Dirk Ross, Personal Communication, April 24, 2007 |
37 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 90, September 2006 |
38 | Mike Farmer email and web site ( Ash Creek, Cali, Berduc, Moss, New Orleans, Thuathe, Zunhua, ) |
39 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 88, 2004 July |
40 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 86, 2002 July |
41 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 89, 2005 September |
42 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 91, 2007 March |
43 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 10, 1956 October |
44 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 51, 1972 June |
45 | Neagari photos and info |
46 | Various Ontario area print and online news reports. |
47 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 29, 1964 Feb. |
48 | The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 94, September 2008 |
49 | 2010 “Meteorite Men” TV episode “The Buzzard Coulee Fireball and Whitecourt Crater, Canada” |
50 | Various Va. print and online news reports. |
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