Peekskill Meteorite — Partial Slice with Red Paint of the Renowned Extraterrestrial Fender Bender
H6
Peekskill, New York
There are two reasons why the Peekskill meteorite is among the world's legendary meteorite events: its descent to Earth was the most widely videotaped before it smashed into a parked car in Peekskill, New York. It was on October 9, 1992, nearly twenty years ago exactly, that cameras trained on Friday night high school football games across northeastern United States turned skyward to capture the phenomenon of the rocketing fireball. Minutes later, not far from New York City, a teenager's parked car was struck by a 25 pound meteorite. While the initial police report indicated that the hole in the car was the work of vandals, it was a result of its far more exotic pedigree that the car has subsequently been exhibited at museums throughout the world—including the American Museum of Natural History. Only a handful of meteorite falls have been caught on film, and none have been captured from as many angles as Peekskill. Specimens of the meteorite are difficult to obtain and this is a superb partial slice, with filigreed shock veins coursing through its pale matrix and a rim of sought-after fusion crust (created during the meteorite's fiery descent in the atmosphere). Moreover, the crust has been embossed with red paint from its impact with the red Chevy Malibu. This lot includes a compilation of videos capturing Peekskill's Friday night touchdown—among the most widely used footage by the media and documentary filmmakers to illustrate a fireball. Measures 74 x 52 x 4mm (3 x 2 x .15 inches) and 51.69 grams
