Last weekend, a loud noise suddenly echoed in the sky northwest of Houston.

At first, I thought it was thunder, but the news reported that a meteorite weighing about 1 ton entered the atmosphere at a speed of 35,000 miles per hour, creating a sonic boom.

It was first spotted in Stagecoach, and NASA officially announced that it broke apart 29 miles above Bammel, north of Houston. The energy scale is said to be equivalent to 26 tons of TNT, and while Houston is used to hurricane season and other events, this is on a different scale.

A resident named Sherrie James in Cypress Station was in her bathroom when she heard a loud bang and a significant impact sound from her daughter's room. When she rushed over, she found a hole in the roof and a large, heavy black rock lying on the floor right next to her daughter's bed.

NASA is currently verifying the actual meteorite, but experts believe it is almost certain based on its color, weight, and surface texture.

Pieces are estimated to be widely scattered around Champion Forest, Cypresswood, Bammel Road, and near the I-45 border.

Honestly, when I first heard this news, I thought, "Could it really be in our neighborhood?"

We have become somewhat numb to news of gun incidents. However, a meteor falling from the sky is a completely different story. Hurricanes have evacuation routes, and crime can be avoided in certain neighborhoods, but a meteorite is literally a bolt from the blue. There's no way to escape it. The weight of it felt quite fresh.

I was curious about how much a piece of meteorite would be worth, so I looked it up. The market price for a typical chondrite (stony meteorite) ranges from $0.50 to $5 per gram. Rare lunar meteorites or Martian meteorites can fetch prices of $500 to over $1,000 per gram.

If the 1-ton meteorite that fell in Cypress Station has broken into pieces, then there could be rocks worth thousands to tens of thousands of dollars scattered around the neighborhood.

The repair cost for Sherrie James's roof will likely be at least $3,000 to $5,000, but if it is confirmed as a meteorite, it could turn into a profitable situation even after repairs.

There are already numerous posts on social media saying, "I found a black rock in my yard."

NASA's ARES team has released the estimated drop zone for the meteorite and is advising people to report any black, heavy rocks that respond to magnets. The problem is that treasure hunters have already started trespassing on private property.

According to Texas law, ownership of a meteorite that falls on one's land belongs to the landowner, so entering without permission is considered illegal trespassing.

It would be a foolish choice to get a criminal record over a meteorite.

Interestingly, NASA's Johnson Space Center is right in Houston.

Actual space material has flown in right next to an institution that studies space exploration. There are very few confirmed cases worldwide of meteorites entering homes.

In that sense, this incident could be more than just a simple happening; it might be quite a historic moment.

Living in Houston seems to bring about unimaginable events.

Hurricanes, gun violence, and now meteorites. Still, since it's a visitor from space that briefly stopped by Earth, I don't think we should view it negatively.

Thinking about finding even a small piece feels... like a true Texas spirit.

Tonight, I might throw a brisket on the grill in the backyard to commemorate this and keep looking up at the sky.