Dai Jianfeng/IAU OAE, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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A meteor is a small chunk of rock, metal or ice, burning up as they enter Earth’s atmosphere. If you have ever seen a shooting star on a dark night, that was likely a meteor no larger than a grain of sand. Meteors larger than this can travel further through the atmosphere, perhaps even reaching the ground. If this happens, then the meteor is renamed a meteorite.
The largest meteorites can cause a lot of damage. In 1908, a 50-60 metre wide meteor entered the atmosphere above Tuguska in Russia, travelling at 60,000 mph. The force from the impact levelled 80 million trees across 830 square miles of forest, an event that would have been devastating if occurring over a populated area. This was just a moderate event, as much larger impacts (such as the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago) can alter the habitability of our climate.
Not all meteorites are world-ending, however. Most that make it to the ground weigh only a few kilograms, and make very little mess. Every year, scientists travel the world in search of these meteorites, seeking the insights provided by them about the origins of the solar system. However, for some, the search for meteorites doesn’t take them beyond their front door. Here are three stories of extraterritorial home deliveries:
Ruth Hamilton, Canada
In 2021, Canadian woman Ruth Hamilton awoke in the night to the sounds of her dog barking. The ruckus was immediately followed by the sound of an explosion, as debris from the ceiling fell down onto her head. A hole had appeared in the ceiling above her. Her first reaction was to jump out of bed, turn on the lights, and call the emergency services. Perhaps somebody was trying to break in? Had a tree just fallen on her house? Whilst on the phone to the emergency services operator, Ruth began to come to her senses, slowly snapping out of the violent adrenaline-fuelled wake-up she’d just experienced. As she did, she noticed a charcoal-coloured, melon-sized rock sat next to her pillow. Upon arrival, the police officer stated ‘I think you’ve got a meteorite’. The officer was correct. A large fireball had been seen outside moments earlier, before breaking up about 19km in the atmosphere. A chunk of the meteor debris had smashed through Hamilton’s roof, through her bedroom ceiling, before reaching its resting place on her pillow, just inches away from Ruth’s sleeping head.
Josua Hutagalung, Indonesia
In 2020, a meteorite crashed through the roof of an Indonesian man called Josua Hutagalung, in a village in Sumatra, Indonesia. The object weighed around 2kg, and lodged 6 inches into the ground. Just as in Hamilton’s case, Hutagalung had narrowly avoided a direct strike from a small meteorite. Upon landing on his property, Hutagalung legally owned the meteorite. He sold it for an undisclosed amount (although stated to be less than the original $1.8 million asking price), which undoubtably changed his life. In this case – Josua experienced literal good fortune falling out the sky.
Anne Hodges, USA
In 1954, Alabama woman Ann Hodges became the only known person (to this day) to survive an impact from a meteorite. Hodges was awoken from a nap on the sofa, as a meteorite crashed through her ceiling, struck her large radio console, and bounced off to hit her. She suffered significant bruising on her side, but experienced relatively minor injuries given the circumstances. After a legal battle between Hodges and her landlord over ownership of the meteorite, Hodges won custody of the out-of-this-world object. She used the meteorite as a doorstop for many years, before donating it to the Alabama Museum of Natural History.
If you want to learn more about the history, modern threats and protection strategies against meteors; alongside other hazards from space like solar flares and space junk – you should check out my new book, Space Hazards!
The Beringer meteorite crater in Arizona, USA. USGS/D. Roddy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
About the author
This blog was written by Dr. Ryan French, solar physicist and author of Space Hazards and The Sun. Written for the curious mind, Space Hazards is packed with real science, offering a window into the risks of space – and why they matter more than ever. Out 11 September 2025.