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Residents in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin reported seeing a disintegrating meteorite flash across the sky just after midnight, local time. Police authorities were suddenly flooded by panic callers and reporting falling rocks striking homes and cars. The main concentration of the falling fragments occurred in the southern suburbs of Chicago.
Events of this nature are surprisingly common, this was the ninth fall recorded in Illinois since 1928. Around 30 000 meteorites are estimated to fall to Earth per year, although few are witnessed as most fall in unpopulated areas.
Over 500 fragments have been collected so far, many handed in to the police from residents whose houses have been damaged. The retrieval of these rocks has given local geologists a unique opportunity to accurately map the detonation area of this meteorite explosion, known as the �strewfield�.
More info: ABC Chicago news
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