[meteorite-list] Another New Jersey Rock Is Not A Meteorite

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 10:06:44 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <200701091806.KAA08325_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070109/NEWS0102/701090375/1001

Mystery rock not from space
By DAVID STEGON
Home News Tribune
January 9, 2007

NORTH BRUNSWICK - The rock Joseph and Kathleen Marascio found is just a
rock after all.

After believing the rock might be connected to the meteorite that fell
last week in Freehold, the township couple learned yesterday that the
gray, black, yellow and green stone they found in their yard is not from
outer space.

"It's been a lot of fun," Joseph Marascio said yesterday. "It's been
quite a mystery and a definite conversation piece. Even though it's not
from outer space, we're still going to keep it."

The Rutgers Geological Studies tested the rock, which turned out to be
basalt thought to be between 150 million and 200 million years old. The
common gray to black volcanic rock is usually fine-grained due to rapid
cooling of lava once it reaches the Earth's surface.

Kathleen Marascio was playing with the couple's dog on Dec. 31 when she
thought she heard something fall from the sky. After hearing on the
local news about the recent incident in which a meteorite crashed into a
house in Freehold, she thought her experience might be connected.

"We're still excited," Joseph Marascio said. "It's still unlike anything
I've seen in this world."
Received on Tue 09 Jan 2007 01:06:44 PM PST