Scientists Say New Jersey UFO is a Meteorite

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) -- A metallic, rocklike object that crashed through the roof of a home here Tuesday was a meteorite, experts said Friday.

The announcement ends three days of mystery that began when the dense, rocklike object about the size of a golf ball but weighing around 13 ounces -- as much as a can of soup -- was discovered by the homeowner Tuesday night.

Rutgers University geologists Jeremy Delaney, Gail Ashley and Claire Condie and Peter Elliott, an independent metallurgist who studied the object, determined it was an iron meteorite because of its density, magnetic properties, markings and coloration.

For now, scientists are calling the object "Freehold Township.''

It belongs to the family whose home was hit, but it is being kept for now in a secure location, according to Freehold Township police.

Police have not released the name of the homeowner nor identified the neighborhood where the home is located.

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