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THE STONE FOUND INSIDE THE VEHICLE’S RESERVOIR HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED BY SCIENTISTS AS JUST GRAVEL A car that was found with a mysterious hole in its roof was probably not hit by a meteorite

after tests found the stone recovered inside it to be a piece of common gravel. Emergency services were called to the scene in Strasbourg last week in response to a callout due to smoke

coming out of a gaping hole in a car roof. Neighbours had reported hearing a ‘boom’ at around 7:00 on November 20. > A l'origine du trou dans ce toit de voiture, une roche venue de

> l'espace ?https://t.co/G6k8ZRVvOB pic.twitter.com/DP01wWBjdx > — France 3 Alsace (@F3Alsace) November 20, 2023 However on examining the car, firemen found no explanation for the

damage. Their initial hypothesis was that a meteorite might have struck the roof and either been vaporised or turned to dust on impact. The firemen found a small stone inside the car’s

reservoir which they sent to the Mineralogy department at the University of Strasbourg for analysis. Barbara Gollain, lead scientist at the department, told _The Connexion_ last week that

she was sceptical that stone was related to the damage. READ MORE: PHOTO: DID A METEORITE MAKE THIS STRANGE HOLE IN CAR ROOF IN FRANCE? Her analysis has since confirmed that the small stone

was indeed just a piece of gravel. “Following initial observations with a binocular microscope, the stone measuring around 1.5cm showed none of the characteristics of a meteorite,” said Ms

Gollain’s report. The stone proved to be sedimentary and covered by crystalised strands of hydrocarbon - a piece of gravel from the road. WHAT COULD HAVE CAUSED THE HOLE IN THE CAR’S ROOF?

The probability of a meteorite hitting a car is around 100 billion to one each year, says the report. Indeed it mentions that there is only one confirmed case of this ever happening: in

Peekskill in the US in 1992. Ms Gollain’s report states there must be more likely - or less unlikely - explanations for the damage. “The chance of this happening is significantly lower than

that of a block of ice falling from an aircraft, which can form when planes go through clouds containing ice crystals. These can then fall from the plane.” “It could also be from a plane

draining its toilets.” Planes do not intentionally drop frozen sewage but accidents can happen: Between 1979 and 2003 there were 27 documented incidents of this in the US alone. In 2018, a

block of ice from a plane fell through the roof of a home in Bristol in the UK. The authorities have yet to determine an official explanation for the damage to the car’s roof. READ MORE:

FURTHER TEMPERATURE DROP ON WAY FOR FRANCE - AND SET TO LAST FOR DAYS BID TO MAKE PUBLIC TOILETS FREE IN FRANCE SIX TIPS TO REDUCE THE COST OF YOUR CAR INSURANCE IN FRANCE