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Acredita-se que uma jóia que uma vez pertenceu ao antigo Rei do Antigo Egipto, Tutankhamon, pode ter sido criada por um meteorito que entrou na atmosfera terrestre, explodindo depois e liberando uma quantidade de energia energia "10 mil vezes maior do que a energia liberada pela explosão de uma bomba atômica", disse o geofísico John Wasson.

A Autoridade de Recursos Minerais Egípcia disse que a jóia é composta de 98% de sílica ou vidro, e que é a jóia mais pura  da sua espécie, encontrada no planeta somente em certa área do Deserto do Saara.

Wasson também disse que o impacto que criou a jóia pode ser comparado ao "evento de Tunguska" que ocorreu em Tunguska, na Sibéria, em 1908, causador a derrubada de pelo menos 80 milhões de árvores, sem contudo deixar qualquer cratera de impacto visível.

"Quando me veio à mente que ela precisava ter se formado num céu aquecido, pensei imediatamente no evento Tunguska," disse Wasson.

O evento foi recriado pelos pesquisadores através de uma simulação virtual de computador. Os resultados da simulação revelaram que o impacto de um meteorito, ou um evento similar como o de Tunguska, pode ter sido a causa da formação e aquecimento do solo em até aproximadamente 1800 graus Celsius, o que terá contribuído para que uma camada fina de vidro se formasse à superfície, no local do impacto.

Os pesquisadores também acrescentaram que eventos como este provavelmente acontecem apenas a cada 100 anos, mais ou menos. Wasson disse que provavelmente haverá mais impactos e que é "somente uma questão de tempo."