On the morning of July 16, 2024, an ultrabright meteor streaked across the sky above New York City. It exploded midflight, and part of it smashed through the roof of a home in Hillsborough, New Jersey.

“I heard an immense crash and felt the house shake,” one of the homeowners, who wanted to remain anonymous for privacy, tells Robin George Andrews at the New York Times. He then went to the source of the sound: the main bedroom. “I open the door, and I see a hole in the ceiling above my bed.”

The crime scene smelled like rotten eggs and was covered in black soot. Scattered about were several dark rocks—fragments of a meteorite, a space rock that reached Earth’s surface. Together, the recovered pieces formed a roughly three-pound object dubbed the Hillsborough meteorite.

Now, scientists have analyzed the Hillsborough meteorite and determined that it belongs to a rare class of primitive meteorites and contains certain building blocks of life and evidence of salty water. The findings, published in the journal Science Advances on July 15, provide a new window into our solar system’s past and clues about the origins of life on Earth.

AMS event #3491-2024 caught from Wayne US

The Hillsborough meteorite fortunately caused no injuries and landed in the home of a couple that was eager to safeguard the space-faring debris for scientists. They quickly contacted study co-author Mike Hankey, an amateur astronomer at the American Meteor Society, who guided them through the process of properly preserving the samples, reports Ashley Strickland at CNN. The homeowners donned gloves and carefully collected the fragments using aluminum foil and glass containers.

The rock fragments were then brought into a lab for analyses involving high-powered microscopes and investigations into its mineral and chemical composition. The work revealed that the meteorite was a CM carbonaceous chondrite, a carbon-rich class of meteorite that may have delivered water to Earth during its youth.

“These are primitive meteorites,” says Peter Brown, a meteor physicist at Western University in Canada who was not involved in the study, to the Times. “They resemble the chemistry that made the planets.”

CM carbonaceous chondrites are usually classified as either CM1 or CM2, largely depending on how much water changed their composition when they were attached to their parent asteroid. But curiously, the analyses hinted that the Hillsborough meteorite sits in between the classes. While scientists have been able to witness 22 CM-type meteorites fall to Earth, only two, including Hillsborough, have been intermediate CM1/2-types.

“Thanks to the homeowner’s quick reaction, these are the most pristine CM1/2 [meteorite pieces] we know of,” says study co-author Peter Jenniskens, a planetary astronomer at the SETI Institute, in a statement.

This exceptional state of preservation meant the Hillsborough meteorite retained much of its original composition. The rock contains microscopic fractures filled with sodium-rich material, the team found, which suggests that the parent asteroid once had salty water moving through it. The meteorite also holds a plethora of amino acids, the units that build proteins, most of which don’t occur naturally on Earth.

“One of the big surprises for me when we analyzed a small chip of the Hillsborough meteorite was the complexity of amino acids and other organic compounds,” says study co-author Danny Glavin, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, in a NASA statement.

What’s more, cameras across New Jersey recorded the trajectory of the blazing meteor—considered a fireball since it outshone Venus—as it zipped through the atmosphere, which helped the scientists figure out where in the solar system the space rock came from. The team suspects that the rock was once part of the 45-mile-wide asteroid 163 Erigone in the inner asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter. A huge object slammed into it about 155 million years ago, creating a family of asteroids. Then, around six million years ago, “a smaller collision destroyed one of these asteroids, from which a piece ended up in near-Earth orbit,” writes Jenniskens in an email to CNN.

“That piece experienced heat/cold cycles from spinning in the sunlight and fragmented about 200,000 years ago,” he adds. Eventually, it entered Earth’s atmosphere at 32,000 miles per hour, most of it getting vaporized on the way to the house in New Jersey.

Jenniskens says that people shouldn’t fear a home visit from a celestial rock. It’s unlikely to happen, and even if it does, a meteorite is a “treasure,” he tells Lisa Grossman at Science News. “I think you are very lucky if it happens to you.”

10-minute read

• While NJ’s new e-bike law sought to curb reckless and dangerous cycling, advocates say it is impacting those on low-speed bikes the most.
• The offices of Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin did not respond to emails with basic questions about how to interpret the new law.
• The Motor Vehicle Commission has struggled to interpret the new law with confusing and conflicting information on its website and manual for e-bike owners.

Shannon and Frank Connor tried everything to teach their son how to ride a bike eight years ago, when he was 8 years old, even signing him up for a class.

“It was so sad to watch. Frank and I went every day and then all the other kids were getting it and he wasn’t,” said Shannon Connor, whose son, Jesse, is autistic, has limited verbal skills and struggles with coordination.

Connor began to grapple with the reality that Jesse might never be able to transport himself places independently as a teen and adult.

But in 2023, he tried an e-tricycle, a three-wheeled bike, with pedals and a throttle that gives it a boost up to 20 miles per hour.

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The e-trike’s throttle eliminated the need to pedal and balance so he could focus on steering.

Jesse squealed with unrepressed glee the first time he tried it. “It’s just a dream come true,” Connor said. “It’s a typical boyhood experience that he never would have been able to do without this e-trike.”

E-bikes unlocked a green, healthy form of exercise and independence for a wide range of people who didn’t previously have it, including those with disabilities and seniors who benefit from the extra power when pedaling. They have expanded job opportunities for delivery workers and provided mobility to those who might not have access to a car or who lost their license.

But as e-bike sales have surged, so, too, have injuries and death.

That prompted lawmakers to revise the state’s e-bike law first written in 2019. But what resulted was a widely criticized bill rushed through a lame duck session last year. That legislation — now the strictest cycling law in the country — goes into effect July 19. Since June 26, when the Motor Vehicles Commission began registering e-bikes, it has issued more than 4,100 e-bike registrations and 250 e-bike permits.

Proponents and opponents applauded parts of the new law, such as requiring all e-bike riders to wear helmets and creating a minimum age to ride at 15.

But critics say this law goes too far in overregulating people on low-speed bikes by requiring license, insurance and registration, and not doing enough to curb those on dangerous high-speed e-bikes.

The new law created two e-bike classes.

 A “low-speed e-bike” has pedal assistance from a motor that goes up to 20 mph.

A “motorized bicycle” has four possible definitions, including an engine under 50 cubic centimeters, and it can travel up to 28 miles per hour using pedals or a throttle.

Both classes now require license and registration, and motorized bicycles must also be insured.

Education-first approach to enforcement

Montville Police Chief Andrew Caggiano has seen a drastic increase in children riding e-bikes around town — and getting hurt doing so.

“Legislation was needed and I think this was a good effort to do that,” Caggiano said. “I believe that this legislation will save lives.”

Caggiano said his department is taking an education-first approach to enforcing the new law, and will stop kids and work with parents to make sure they understand the new law, and officers will use discretion for stricter enforcement.

“That’s not going to happen forever, but we will use our discretion at the beginning to focus on educating the public on what’s legal, what’s illegal — just give people the opportunity to a get their license and get the bike registered like they’re supposed to,” he said.

The rushed and confusing changes in the new law made it difficult for both residents — and even the Motor Vehicle Commission — to interpret it and comply, which cycling advocates say has discouraged cycling in the state.

In the months since its passage lawmakers discussed a fix-it bill to address a number of issues.

But the legislature broke for summer on July 1, without passing a fix-it bill.

“I’m open to fixing if there’s issues with e-bikes, but e-bikes are proliferating all over the place,” said Senate President Nicholas Scutari, who championed the new e-bike law, on June 30. “I think we took a good first step.”

“If there are issues with it, I’m open to fixing it,” he said. “I think everyone is.”

Who will feel the law’s effect?

The e-bike law will impact a wide swath of New Jersey residents, of whom more than 1 in 10 don’t have a car, making it the third highest rate of households without a vehicle of any state.

People with suspended licenses, who might rely on an e-bike to get to work or appointments because they can’t drive, can no longer legally ride them because of the new law. Undocumented workers, who may use e-bikes as deliveristas or to get to jobs, may hesitate to register e-bikes to avoid being in national databases used by Immigration Customs and Enforcement.

In addition to requiring a license and registration, e-bike owners have to provide the Motor Vehicle Commission with six points of identity and proof of bike ownership, such as a receipt, affidavit from the current owner or notarized bill of sale.

Advocates warned that people who can’t afford cars are often those at the lowest income levels and could end up encountering police more often if e-bike riders are being stopped for license, insurance and registration, or other requirements like head lamps and a rear light.

Law puts Jesse’s e-trike in gray area

Now, at 16, Jesse Connor confidently hops on his trike to go to the park with his friends, gets ice cream at the local Carvel, and rides around to wash cars in the neighborhood for a little cash.

The local crossing guards and police in their 3-square-mile town know Jesse well. You can’t miss him with his neon vest, high-visibility helmet, Autism awareness stickers and flags affixed to the trike.

The e-trike was life-changing for Jesse, who unearthed a new level of independence that seemed out-of-reach a few years ago.

It was also life-changing for the Connors, who opened an e-bike store in Shrewsbury last year, and founded “3 Wheels from Jesse,” a nonprofit that gifts electric tricycles to people on the autism spectrum to help them get to jobs and see friends and family.

“I want to leave this Earth making it better than when we got here and, to me, giving people mobility” was the way to do that, Connor said.

But for Jesse, the state’s new e-bike law puts his e-trike in a gray area.

Gabriella Hillgrube worked for her father at Jasper Spine Institute, according to online records. Guiliana had just turned 2 in June, according to the family’s social media posts.

“Dr. Jasper was a very good friend of mine and also one of the top endoscopic surgeons in the world for spinal stenosis and disc degeneration,” wrote Chris Alderucci, a longtime friend and associate. “I worked with him for about 10 years in the early 2000s when I worked for Joimax. I’ve seen him perform hundreds of cases and traveled around the world to help him teach endoscopic discectomy to surgeons from many, many countries around the globe.”

“He lived his life in a fast lane as he loved to race cars, ride his motorcycles and boats. He loved his airplane and helicopter. But most of all he loved his life and his family and friends. He was one of the most genuine surgeons that cared about his patients and the staff that worked with him,” Alderucci wrote. “There will be many surgeons and patients from around the world that will be sad to hear this news. Love you paisan and will miss you immensely,” he wrote.

“A man with a big heart and a kind soul,” Galina Pinto wrote. “Great pilot, great friend, great doctor.”

“Gabe was one of the most unique people I’ve ever met in my life,” wrote Dave Patnaude, calling the news “one of the most horrific phone calls I ever got.”