(NECN/NBC: Jeff Saperstone) - When Larry Beck heard a loud noise on his roof Friday night, he never suspected it was a meteorite crashing down from outer space.
"All the sheet rock was broken apart and it was on the floor," said Beck.
That’s exactly what scientists at Yale say this softball size rock is after they examined it this Tuesday afternoon.
"The darkening really peaked my interest that this was something that came down through the atmosphere at a very rapid speed and was vaporizing in its outer shell," said Beck.
Larry’s friend John Bagioni, a meteorologist came over to inspect the rock for himself.
It’s heavy, solid black on the outside, gray and somewhat crystallized on the inside - all the signatures of a space rock.
"For an astronomer, I’m a meteorologist but I know a fair amount of astronomy, this is like winning the lottery," said Bagioni.
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The meteorite crashed into Larry’s home around 10:30 pm Friday night.
At first he thought a piece of concrete fell from an airplane since he's right over the Bradley flight path.
Wolcott Police even called in the FAA to investigate.
Luckily, Larry was on the other side of the room watching television.
The rock never fell all the way through - a copper pipe stopped it.
Scientists say once in the atmosphere, meteorites can travel between 200 and 400 miles per hour an out-of-this-world story on a quiet street in Wolcott.
"My wife says it can only happen to us," said Beck.
A loud boom was reported in several towns across Connecticut about the same time the meteorite crashed through the roof - some scientists think the two events could be connected.
