A 'mud meteorite' that smashed through the roof of a dog house in Aquas Zarcas, Costa Rica.

(Michael Farmer/ASU)

At a Glance

A shower of 'mud meteorites' rained down on the town of Aguas Zarcas, Costa Rica, in April. Mud meteorites are unique for their composition and are rich in clay and other minerals. One meteorite narrowly missed a sleeping German Shephard when it smashed through the roof of his dog house.

A shower of “mud meteorites” rained down on the small Costa Rican town of Aguas Zarcas in April, with one piece narrowly missing a sleeping German Shepherd as it smashed through the roof of his dog house.

Meteorites are not uncommon, but so-called “” stand out from others because of their composition, which is heavy in clays, organic compounds and water-bearing minerals known as carbonaceous chondrites, according to EarthSky.

The meteorites that fell around 9:09 p.m. local time, April 23, on the town in north-central Costa Rica came after a giant fireball was reported over the Central American nation.

The meteorite fall was a close call for one Aguas Zarcas resident. A two-pound fragment of the meteor that broke up upon entering the earth’s atmosphere smashed through the roof of his home, destroying a dining room table.

Another rock smashed through the corrugated roof of his German Shepherd's dog house while the dog slept inside. Luckily, the dog — ironically named Rocky — was unhurt.

A meteorite from the Aguas Zarcas fall pierced the roof of a doghouse, narrowly missing the sleeping dog, aptly named Rocky. Mike Farmer, who donated samples of the meteorite to ASU, is pictured here in Aguas Zarcas with "Rocky" and another dog, both unharmed by the meteorite fall.

(Michael Farmer/ASU)

Mud meteorites are particularly interesting to scientists because they are full of water.

“Many are mud balls that are between 80 and 95 percent clay,” Laurence Garvie, a research professor in theSchool of Earth and Space Explorationand a curator for Arizona State University'sCenter for Meteorite Studies, said in a press release.

“Clays are important because water is an integral part of their structure,” Garvie added, suggesting that water in the meteorites could possibly lead to clues about of life on other celestial bodies in the universe.

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Meteorite collector Michael Farmer donated several meteorites to Arizona State University for analysis, but researchers from ASU had to rush to collect other meteorites in the area before rain destroyed them.

“These had to be collected quickly and before they got rained on,” Garvie explained. “Because they are mostly clay, as soon as these types of meteorites get wet, they fall apart.”

In the end, the scientists collected more than 55 pounds of meteorites before the rains set in about five days later and took them back to the university lab for analysis. The largest meteorite collected was the size of a beach ball.

Rocks traveling through space are called meteors before they enter the earth’s atmosphere and break up, at which point the fragmented pieces become meteorites. The meteor that broke apart over Aguas Zarcas was reportedly the size of a washing machine.