COLLECTION
| Meteorite Name: | Park Forest | |
| Location: | Cook County, Illinois | |
| Classification: | L5 Chondrite | |
| Witnessed Fall: | Yes | |
| Date and Time: | March 26, 2003 | |
| TKW: | > 18 kilograms | |
| Remarks: | A single stone crashed through the roof of Noe Garza's house, then blew through the ceiling, crushed a window sill, and smashed a full-length mirror in his son's bedroom -- narrowly missing his son's head while he was asleep in bed. The two largest fragments of this stone -- the specimen pictured below and a larger stone of over 2 kilograms -- were featured all over the local news as this became the most famous meteorite recovered from the Park Forest event. |
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| 178.1 gm crusted fragment | ||
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| 178.1 gm crusted fragment (alternate angle) | ||
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| 178.1 gm crusted fragment (interior) | ||
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| Split roof beam showing direct impact at lower right | ||
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| Plaster ceiling debris from impact | ||
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| Drywall debris from ceiling impact | ||
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| Termite, likely killed upon impact according to an entomologist's wing flexibility test results and expert opinion | ||
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| The Park Forest fireball | ||
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| Noe Garza's letter, acknowledging sale of materials to Rob Elliott, who sold them to Jan Bartels, from whom I acquired them | ||
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| Officer Bob Doyle with several specimens from the fall, including the Garza fragments at front center | ||
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| Label on evidence bag indicating an "ACT OF GOD" | ||
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| CLICK HERE for video of the Park Forest fireball | ||
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| The Garza house | ||
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| After separating from the larger stone in the attic, the 178.1 gram fragment produced the smaller hole to the right in the bedroom ceiling | ||
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| While the larger fragment directly impacted the bedroom window sill, the 178.1 gram fragment broke through the window in flight and landed outside, becoming the only meteorite in history to enter and exit a house before coming to terrestrial rest | ||
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| Venetian blinds from Garza bedroom | ||
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| Broken glass from Garza bedroom | ||
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| Robert Garza, with his younger brother at left, inspecting the damage from his bed, where he was sleeping at the moment of impact (and fortunately, yet barely, was unscathed by the event) | ||
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| The Garza fragments on ABC | ||