Case file · Cosmic event
Sutter's Mill meteorite
On 22 April 2012 a minivan-sized asteroid exploded over the Sierra foothills with a sonic boom; fragments fell near Coloma, where the 1848 Gold Rush began.
2012 CE · 38.80, -120.91 · status: official
The account
It proved to be a rare carbonaceous chondrite, rich in organic compounds; radar helped locate the fragments within days.