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13. 04. 12. - 08:00

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13. 04. 12. - 08:00

Star Attraction

Kathryn Quinn

The world's only car known to have been hit by a meteorite has been shipped from a garage in New York to be the star of an exhibition about meteorites in a German Natural History Museum.

The remarkable thing about the meteorite strike on the red Chevrolet Malibu that happened in 1992 was that it was filmed by an amateur cameraman as it blazed through the heavens and then smashed through the car boot at full force at Peekskill, a city in Westchester County in New York.

Owner Michelle Knapp decided not to repair the car, and instead kept it where German Natural History Museum managers in Oldenburg negotiated for the car to be on display for four weeks as the star of an exhibition about meteorites.

The 12 kilogram meteorite "Peekskill" in contrast survived the crash intact and ended up with just a small fleck of charred red paint left on its surface. The meteorite was also loaned to the Museum and is on display alongside the car.

Museum director Dr. Ulf Beichle said: "This car is the only one in the world known to have been hit by a meteorite and it shows quite clearly the enormous power with which these heavenly bodies strike the Earth when they enter the atmosphere. We are really delighted that we've managed to get such a rare object for our exhibition.

The car remains in private ownership in America and needed to be transported carefully to avoid any damage. A special crane was used to lift the car into the museum and the car is now available as of today to be viewed.

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Chinese Fakeaway
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Serial killer survivor walks away alive after fall
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Some 177 Roma repatriated by French authorities to Romania
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