One of the most interesting things about playing Stardew Valley is the random events that may happen at the end of every night.
An algorithm randomly picks from a list of possible events, from witches to having children to explosions!
But what does the Stardew Valley “explosion was heard in the night” pop-up mean?
“An explosion was heard in the night” is a text box pop-up you can receive before the start of a new day in Stardew Valley.
This message indicates a random event where a meteorite will appear somewhere on your farm for you to harvest rare materials from.
Here’s what you need to know about the Stardew Valley meteorite random event.
Where is the explosion?
The explosion in Stardew Valley always happens on the player’s farm. It may happen anywhere on the farm, but there are some requirements.
The event requires a 3×3 square space that is clear of unfillable tiles, trees, forageables, and animals.
This is because the 2×2 sprite of the meteor will spawn randomly within that 3×3 square.
So, the meteor will not appear on or in the greenhouse, buildings, or ponds.
What does the meteorite do?
If the algorithm of the game picks the meteorite event, you will receive a pop-up message in the night that reads, “An explosion was heard in the night…”
It will be accompanied by a sound effect unique to the event.
When you explore your farm in the morning, you will find a large crystal-studded purple meteorite somewhere on it.
The meteorite will destroy anything in the area where it lands, including fencing, paths, and crops.
In the best-case scenario, it destroys nothing. In the worst-case scenario, it may destroy difficult to recoup items such as Rare Plants, Ancient Plants, or higher-value fencing, costing you quite a bit of money.
That being said, the average amount of damage (perhaps 50-100g) is usually worth it, as the meteorite is filled with a mix of rare and common resources:
- 6 Iridium Ore
- 2 Geodes
- 6 Stone
These are good to have, especially if you have a career that increases the value of mineable materials.
| Resource | Uses | Base Value | Value with Blacksmith | Value with Gemologist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iridium Ore | Iridium Bars, tool upgrades, rare craftables | 100g (Bars are worth 1,000g) | 100g (Bars are worth 1,500g) | 100g (Bars are worth 1,000g) |
| Geodes | Spawn gemstones according to luck value (can be very rare) | 50g (can drop items worth up to 150g) | 50g (can drop items worth up to 150g) | 50g (can drop items worth up to 180g) |
| Stone | Building and crafting | 2g | 2g | 2g |
How rare is the meteor event in Stardew Valley?
The chance of a meteorite event happening is 1%.
Even if this event is chosen, however, if the algorithm picks a space where there is no available free tile (with no water or animals) for the meteorite to generate in, the event will simply be skipped.
No other event can happen if the generator picks the meteorite event but must skip it due to a lack of room.
How long does a meteorite last in Stardew Valley?
The meteorite lasts as long as it takes you to find it on your farm.
Does the meteor despawn?
The meteorite does not despawn, so you have plenty of time to collect all of the resources associated with it.
How to break the meteorite in Stardew Valley
You can collect the resources from the meteorite with a Gold or Iridium Pickaxe.
To get the Gold Pickaxe, you’ll need to upgrade your tool through Clint three times, costing a total of 17,000g, 5 copper bars, 5 iron bars, and 5 gold bars.
To get the Iridium Pickaxe, upgrade your Pickaxe one more time from Gold. This will cost you 25,000g and 5 Iridium bars.
Collecting the meteorite resources with a Gold Pickaxe takes 7 hits. Collecting with an Iridium Pickaxe takes 6 hits.
Ideally, you should have your Pickaxe upgraded before the event, as it takes several days for each upgrade to be completed.
Read more: What does the Earthquake Event do?