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Meteorite did not make hole in car roof in Strasbourg so what did?
The stone found inside the vehicle’s reservoir has been identified by scientists as just gravel
![Nazarii_Neshcherenskyi / Shutterstock](https://image.connexionfrance.com/209889.webp?imageId=209889&width=960&height=720&format=jpg)
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.
A l'origine du trou dans ce toit de voiture, une roche venue de l'espace ?https://t.co/G6k8ZRVvOB pic.twitter.com/DP01wWBjdx
— France 3 Alsace (@F3Alsace) November 20, 2023
However on examining the car, firemen found no explanation for the damage.
Their initial hypothesis was that a meteorite might have struck the roof and either been vaporised or turned to dust on impact.
The firemen found a small stone inside the car’s reservoir which they sent to the Mineralogy department at the University of Strasbourg for analysis.
![](https://image.connexionfrance.com/209826.webp?imageId=209826&width=960&height=736&format=jpg)
Barbara Gollain, lead scientist at the department, told The Connexion last week that she was sceptical that stone was related to the damage.
Read more: PHOTO: did a meteorite make this strange hole in car roof in France?
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.
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.
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