An analysis by the South Australian Museum of a suspected meteorite strike on a moving vehicle near Port Germein in late October could not determine what caused the impact.
The meteorite hypothesis was investigated because there was no clear earthly source of the debris, and the initial reports of the incident indicated that the object was hot enough to melt and deform the glass of the windscreen. The initial photographs of the damage appeared to show discolouration caused by heat damage.
Museum research and collections scientists undertook an examination of the windscreen which revealed that this discolouration was not preserved in the glass, and not caused by heat damage. The glass preserves a brittle, radiating shatter pattern consistent with a small object, approximately 2cm in diameter, striking the windscreen. No high temperature deformation of the glass could be found preserved in the windscreen.
No fragments or trace evidence of the impacting object could be recovered from the windscreen for further analysis.
The Australian Space Agency confirmed for the Museum that it did not detect any objects entering the atmosphere at the time of the incident.
The identity of the object remains a mystery, however the available evidence does not point towards an extraterrestrial source. The South Australian Museum is confident that the damage was not caused by a meteorite.
