MENOSHA, Wis. — The remnants of a meteor that splashed down in Lake Michigan after lighting up the sky early Monday morning are not alone, researchers say.
NASA experts believe the meteor seen across the Great Lakes region was about the size of a minivan when it entered Earth’s atmosphere, but by the time it ended its journey in Lake Michigan, it was closer to the size of a lunch box. Scientists say, thanks to technology, they know exactly where to find it — and it’s not alone.
“By the looks of the radar, there are hundreds of meteorites sitting on the bottom Lake Michigan right now,” says Dr. Marc Fries of NASA. “We know the exact location from the weather radar. The falling meteorites show up on four different radars in NOAA’s nexrad National Weather Radar System.”
NASA and other researchers will be using all of the footage for further studies. If the pieces of the meteor — which could be upwards of 4.5 billion years old — are collected from the bottom of Lake Michigan, they can help experts learn more about the origins of our solar system.
