Berthoud Meteorite
October 2004, in a backyard near Berthoud. A couple step outside, hear a strange whooshing overhead and duck! A fireball hits the ground, and when it settles, they find a baseball-sized rock from space — still warm, still smoking, and incredibly rare. Emitting rare gasses and gamma rays, a fresh meteorite fall offers the possibility to track where it came from — this one likely from Vesta, one of the largest and brightest asteroids between Mars and Jupiter. You can see Vesta with a telescope in backyards across Colorado. And you can see the Berthoud meteorite at the Colorado School of Mines. With its glossy black crust and fiery past, it can spark wonder. Like this curiosity: ten miles east of Berthoud, another "vestoid" fell near Johnstown, Colorado — 85 years earlier!
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Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado. See more postcards.
