Stardew Valley Meteorite Guide
The Meteorite is a rare random farm event that can occur overnight. It drops valuable resources including Iridium Ore and has a chance to contain a Prismatic Shard.
How It Spawns
Chance
- There is a 1% chance each night that the Meteorite event is selected
- The event is chosen from a pool of random overnight farm events
Spawn Requirements
When the event is selected, the game:
- Chooses a random 3x3 area on your farm
- Checks if the area contains:
- Water
- Placed objects that block movement
- Buildings
- Resource clumps
- If any of these are present, the event does nothing (no meteorite spawns)
- If the area is clear, the meteorite spawns in the lower-left 2x2 square of the selected area
Note: The meteorite will destroy any crops or paths in the spawn area.
Overnight Notification
When a meteorite lands, you’ll see this message before the shipping screen:
“An explosion was heard in the night…”
A unique meteorite sound effect plays when this happens.
Mining the Meteorite
Requirements
- Gold Pickaxe or better required to mine
- The meteorite does not despawn naturally
- It will remain on your farm until mined
Hits Required
- Gold Pickaxe: 7 hits
- Iridium Pickaxe: 6 hits
Drops
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Iridium Ore | 10 | Primary resource |
| Stone | 8 | |
| Omni Geode | 2 | |
| Prismatic Shard | 1 | 25% chance (as of v1.6.3) |
Historical Note: In v1.6, Prismatic Shard drop rate was 100%, but was reduced to 25% in v1.6.3.
Visual Appearance
The meteorite is a large, dark rock with spiky projections. It has a distinctive appearance that makes it easy to spot on your farm.
Trivia: From v1.0 to v1.04 (February 26 to March 1, 2016), the meteorite was gray with no spiky projections.
Strategy and Tips
Protecting Your Farm
- The meteorite destroys crops and paths in its spawn area
- This can be counter-productive if the destroyed crops are more valuable than the meteorite drops
- There’s no way to prevent meteorites from spawning
When to Mine
- Mine it as soon as you have a Gold Pickaxe
- The Iridium Ore is extremely valuable early-to-mid game
- The Prismatic Shard chance makes it worth checking every meteorite
Prismatic Shard Uses
If you get lucky with a Prismatic Shard drop:
- Donate 1 to the Museum (required for completion)
- Use in the Desert Obelisk or Island Obelisk crafting
- Gift to villagers (universal love, except Haley who hates it)
- Craft Wedding Ring (multiplayer)
- Trade for Galaxy weapons at the Desert
Meteorite vs. Other Random Events
Other random overnight events include:
- Crop Fairy (1% chance) - Grows crops in a 5x5 area
- Witch (1% chance) - Leaves a Void Egg or Golden Egg
- Stone Owl (0.5% chance) - Decorative item appears
- Strange Capsule (0.8% chance after Year 1) - UFO event
The Meteorite is one of the more beneficial random events due to its valuable drops.
Version History
| Version | Changes |
|---|---|
| 1.0 | Meteorite introduced (gray, no spikes) |
| 1.6 | Updated drops: added Prismatic Shard, increased Iridium Ore from 6 to 10, increased Stone from 6 to 8, replaced Geodes with Omni Geodes |
| 1.6.3 | Reduced Prismatic Shard drop rate from 100% to 25% |
Last updated: 2026-06-15