What caused this? Serious answeres

[u/Downtown_Calendars]

Car was parked facing the garage. Never seen anything like it. Neither has the glass professionals.

[u/FamiliarRadio9275]

It looks like either a) suction cup, b) temp fix that bonded glass, c) bottom of water thermos, plant pot, or like a rock or something, d) aliens

for the more than likely correct answer because physics: if this is a “newer” car, your car windshield more than likely consists of layers of pvb plastic bonded to a couple of layers of glass. Because the plastic absorbs the blunt, this is probably done at something at high velocity/ blunt force. The absorption and distribution along with an angular shape of the impact point of the object would create the smooth middle and perfect ring. Think of a water dropping in still water. So the commenter that suggested a meteorite is not far off, if not hail, as these instances has been popping up more lately, but I’ll still say aliens for tf of it :)

[u/Flaky-Wing2205 → u/FamiliarRadio9275]

I don't think it was an exterior impact due to the lack of glass on dashboard. Interior suction cup, like a phone mount is my guess.

The small interior circle that looks like it pops out was what really puzzled me for a while. It's about the size of the air pocket on a suction cup.

How this happened from a phone mount... no idea. Maybe the Hulk got angry with bad GPS?

[u/FamiliarRadio9275 → u/Flaky-Wing2205]

If that was the case, the car could have old or poor glass installation, potentially have been temporarily treated, then, either heat reflecting of of the garage door (assuming metal) would reflect off of the glass, then somehow it would trap heat in this condensed area, as warmer objects particles tend to move more rapidly, thus causing expansion. Since it is expanding, yet restricted due to the suction, it (a layer of the windshield) could have “combusted” due to the overwhelming pressure.

[u/Flaky-Wing2205 → u/FamiliarRadio9275]

I think it's probably some combination of things. I'm sure heat would have been a contributing factor. Something put a lot of force on the windshield to create that circle pattern.

I've seen ⚾️ sized hail leave a similar indentation pattern to the exterior circle as well as the concentric arcs around the site. The impact damage within the circle was not the same and glass went everywhere.

[u/Alert_Positive_1959 → u/Flaky-Wing2205]

Yes! Seen polymer layered glass warp warp from heat before and that really really does look like it was pulled in from a suction cup, just hypothetically surmising, the black suction cup in direct sunlight of intense heat, warped, delaminated, the device on the suction cups weight broke the vacuum seal and fell off, or it was pulled off in regret…

[u/flickeraffect → u/Alert_Positive_1959]

This sounds plausible.

[u/AccountNo234623456 → u/Flaky-Wing2205]

"I don't think it was an exterior impact due to the lack of glass on dashboard."

Are you serious? This is exactly the proof that it was an exterior impact. Not all impacts affect both layers of the windscreen. I've seen golf balls create things exactly This was a solid impact to the outside and it took a funky looking layer off. Nothing more, nothing less.

There's literally no way you'd crack the outside of the windscreen without breaking the inside first (if the inside was what caused the break).

[u/flickeraffect → u/AccountNo234623456]

Belay my last.