Fritz Zwicky’s Meteor Pellets

Origin
Fritz Zwicky emigrated from his native Switzerland to research astronomy at California Institute of Technology. A highly independent study, Zwicky theorized the existence of neutron stars and fiery supernovae years before his colleague Robert Oppenheimer reached the same conclusion. While working at the Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories, Zwicky discovered more physical phenomenon that we still do not fully understand. He postulated galaxies could bend light through their massive gravitational pull, that an unknown “dunkle materie” was affecting the rate of universal expansion and suggested people could eventually reengineer the position of planets and solar systems.

Many of these ideas were a product of his novel thinking, such as the belief of nuclear goblins, bodies of unstable density that would explode when they reached the outer layers of a neutron star. One experiment he took great pride in was creating the first artificial meteors. After several failed attempts, the army allowed him to fire an Aerobee rocket with attached metal charges into the atmosphere. When it reached altitude the payload was detonated, successfully launching pellets into the first solar orbit.

Effects
Exposing to a near vacuum along with intense heat will cause a pod to explode and form minute amounts of celestial material. Anything from pockets of cosmic dust and miniature brown dwarfs to neutron star energy and coveted dark matter samples can be produced, but only from specific pellets. They reform after the product has all been depleted, albeit noticeably smaller until completely spent.