Human need to knowledge of oneself and the secrets of our life is extremely high. And the love of mysticism lives in our blood, so don’t be surprised that there are people who collect... meteorites. This may seem stupid to you, because it is better to look for treasures at the bottom of the ocean, because everyone knows that hundreds of ships sank with gold bars on board. But, as the seekers themselves say, what they found will be taken away from you as soon as you lift the chests on board, and the meteorite only needs to be defended by museums and archaeologists...
It is important not to confuse the concepts. Scientists are looking for meteorites to formulate hypotheses and study, and the seekers or meteorite hunters are most often “gold diggers” who are financed by Western billionaires, or they themselves have decided to make a fortune by selling the gifts of the universe on the black market.
A meteorite is a body of cosmic origin that fell on the surface of the Earth (in our case).
I recognize you from a thousand...
An inexperienced person will not recognize a real meteorite from a thousand stones. What is important to us in stone? The more colors, bizarre shapes and beauty it has, the better for us. Heavenly stones come in iron, stone and iron-stone varieties.
If the boulder you find has the following signs, then you have found a meteorite:
- if it has a high density;
- regmaglypts are often visible on the surface of meteorites - smoothed depressions resembling finger indentations in clay;
- on fresh specimens a thin (about 1 mm thick) dark fusion crust is visible;
- the fracture is most often gray in color, sometimes small (about 1 mm in size) balls - chondrules - are visible on it;
- inclusions of metallic iron are visible;
- magnetization - the compass needle deviates noticeably;
- Over time, the stones oxidize in air, acquiring a brown, rusty color.
Iron meteorite:
Iron meteorites are mainly composed of iron, averaging 90%, followed by nickel up to 6-8% and cobalt around 0.5-0.7%. Further, phosphorus, sulfur, carbon, chlorine and some other elements are found in them in small quantities.
Stone meteorite:
Stone meteorites are 18% silicon, 14% magnesium, 0.8% aluminum, 1.3% calcium, 2% sulfur and very small traces of many other elements. Most of the chemical components in both iron and stony meteorites are present in such small quantities that they are detected only with the help of very subtle analyzes. Oxygen is found in stony meteorites in the form of compounds with other elements; it averages about 30%. In addition, as we have already mentioned, they contain scattered inclusions of nickel iron and troilite, and the total content of nickel iron can reach 20-25% of the weight of the entire meteorite.
It is believed that about 2 thousand tons fall on our planet per year. I wonder where they are stored?
Where to find a meteorite?
Scientists claim that the shooting stars that children love to see and at the sight of which they certainly make wishes are the same meteorites. Their sizes are always different, and their weight is deceptive. A block can weigh only 100-200 grams, but it seems like a ton. True, there are many nuances here too.
If you saw a falling object and ran to look for it, it is a falling meteorite. If you went on an expedition, collected stones, and in the laboratory they established the foreign origin of the boulder, this meteorite is truly a find. It has been established that the gifts of our universe can often be destroyed in an environment that is not favorable for their storage - swamps, wet or peaty, as well as tropical areas. With friends, you should go on a search to places with a constant climate - cold areas or deserts. Of course, there are also places to search in Russia - Chelyabinsk, Perm, Tver, Ryazan...
According to statistics, meteorites most often fall on the territory of the USA, Kazakhstan, the Urals, Africa, South America and Antarctica.
What is the value of a meteorite?
Some begin their search in the hope of fulfilling a childhood dream. They found or bought several pieces of the meteorite, put them on a shelf at home, showed them to guests, bequeathed them to their heirs, and calmed down on that. Others buy equipment (metal detectors), take the equipment and go on long and sometimes not always successful searches.
In addition to the fact that the meteorite and its discovery are a contact with something mysterious and lift the veil of mystery of life in space, this is also a good lot for making money. There are auctions where particularly valuable pieces can sell for as little as $200.
The most valuable meteorites are stone-iron and lunar and Martian meteorites. And if minerals unknown to earthly scientists are also found in the composition, then this heavenly guest is definitely in danger of being sold quickly.
I will find it and not give it to anyone!
This logic is fundamentally flawed. Unfortunately, we, like the whole world, are ruled by bureaucracy. You understand that even collectors cannot determine the value and significance of a find by eye. As soon as you find a boulder, it must be sent to the laboratory for examination. Once it is written on paper that it is extremely rare, you should get a license, and then you can take the remaining pieces and do whatever you want with them. In cases where the finder is rather vain or financially interested, the find should be registered, and then the stone can be put up for auction.
The Russian Academy of Sciences rewards people who donate meteorites to it. If there is a need to check the meteorite origin of any sample, then you should chop off or saw off a piece weighing 50-100 g and send it to the address: 117313, Moscow, Maria Ulyanova Street, 3, Committee on Meteorites of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Meteor searching is illegal
Here it is worth recalling the existence in Russia and Ukraine of criminal liability for engaging in illegal (underground) geology, archeology and illegal mining, as well as for the illegal appropriation and trade of found valuable minerals and meteorites. On the black market, meteorites are quite expensive. Moreover, for their delivery to the state on whose territory the meteorite was found, a tangible monetary reward is also officially provided.
In order to legally search for heavenly treasures, you must have a so-called “open” sheet. It is needed to conduct searches on private property, as well as negotiate with local authorities about search work. This search document is issued by two organizations: the Committee on Meteorites of the Russian Academy of Sciences represented by a structural unit - the Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry named after. Vernadsky and Russian society lovers of meteorology. Finders can sell meteorites completely legally.
Top 7 most famous meteorites
1. Goba meteorite (Namibia)
In 1920, a farmer decided to plow his field and discovered a “boulder.” Perhaps this is the most voluminous find to date - weight 60 tons, diameter 3 meters. Its composition is an iron meteorite. It fell on the territory of modern Namibia approximately 80 thousand years ago.
2. Allende (Mexico)
In 1969, it appeared brightly and crumbled into many fragments. The weight of the meteorite itself is 5 tons, and the fragments are 2-3 tons. By its nature, it is a carbonaceous meteorite, the age of the calcium-aluminum inclusions is approximately 4.6 billion years, that is, more than the age of any of the planets in the solar system.
3. Murchison meteorite (Australia)
It was this “piece” of a carbonaceous meteorite weighing 108 kg that made all scientists say that there is life outside our planet. The chemical composition (in addition to the main substance) included many amino acids. Scientists estimate that the meteorite is 4.65 billion years old, meaning it formed before the appearance of the Sun, which is estimated to be 4.57 billion years old.
4. Meteorite Sikhote-Alin (Russia)
In the winter of 1947, an iron body weighing 23 tons disintegrated in the atmosphere into many fragments and flew to us in the form of a meteor shower. The meteorite is distinguished by two features: its almost 100% iron composition and how large a find it is in Russia.
5. ALH84001 (Antarctica)
This code is the name of the most famous Martian meteorite that could be found on Earth. Scientists suggest that the alien body is between 3.9 and 4.5 billion years old. The meteorite, whose weight is 1.93 kg, fell to Earth about 13 thousand years ago. NASA scientists already in 1966, thanks to this gift from the red planet, were able to firmly put forward a hypothesis - there was life on Mars. Inquisitive minds have identified microscopic structures that can also be interpreted as fossilized traces of bacteria.
6. Tunguska meteorite (Russia)
It deserves mention because of the history of its appearance on our planet - Hollywood itself would envy the special effects created. Back in 1908, an explosion with a power of 40 megatons thundered and knocked down trees over an area of more than 2 thousand square kilometers. The blast wave swept across the surface of our planet, leaving a slight haze and marking the arrival of the Tunguska giant.
7. Chelyabinsk meteorite (Russia)
To date, what we observed these days in Chelyabinsk, NASA called the largest celestial body that has ever fallen on our planet. Having exploded in the sky of Chelyabinsk at an altitude of 23 km, the meteorite caused a powerful shock wave, which, as in the case of the Tunguska meteorite, circled the globe twice. Before the explosion, the meteorite weighed about 10 thousand tons and had a diameter of 17 meters, and afterward it shattered into hundreds of fragments, the largest of which weighed up to half a ton.
If you decide to start looking for meteorites, know that it is a thorny path. Everything in reality is not as rosy as our imagination portrays. This is a lot of money spent, days of nerves, and most importantly, hope invested in this search. Of course, you will find meteorites, but whether they will be those very rare nuggets is not yet a fact, because most often iron and stone meteorites fall on our planet, which have no value for science and for collectors, except for beginners. Good luck searching!
Text: Anastasia Episheva
> Types of meteorites
Find out which ones exist types of meteorites: description of classification with photos, iron, stone and stone-iron, meteorites from the Moon and Mars, asteroid belt.
Often a common person imagining what a meteorite looks like, he thinks about iron. And it's easy to explain. Iron meteorites are dense, very heavy, and often take on unusual, and even spectacular, shapes as they fall and melt through our planet's atmosphere. And although most people associate iron with the typical composition of space rocks, iron meteorites are one of the three main types of meteorites. And they are quite rare compared to stony meteorites, especially the most common group of them, single chondrites.
Three main types of meteorites
Exists a large number of types of meteorites, divided into three main groups: iron, stone, stone-iron. Almost all meteorites contain extraterrestrial nickel and iron. Those that contain no iron at all are so rare that even if we asked for help identifying possible space rocks, we likely wouldn't find anything that didn't contain large amounts of the metal. The classification of meteorites is, in fact, based on the amount of iron contained in the sample.
Iron type meteorite
Iron meteoriteswere part of the core of a long-dead planet or large asteroid from which it is believed to have formed between Mars and Jupiter. They are the densest materials on Earth and are very strongly attracted to a strong magnet. Iron meteorites are much heavier than most Earth rocks; if you've lifted a cannonball or a slab of iron or steel, you know what we're talking about.
For most samples in this group, the iron component is approximately 90%-95%, the rest is nickel and trace elements. Iron meteorites are divided into classes according to chemical composition and structure. Structural classes are determined by studying two components of iron-nickel alloys: kamacite and taenite.
These alloys have a complex crystalline structure known as the Widmanstätten structure, named after Count Alois von Widmanstätten who described the phenomenon in the 19th century. This lattice-like structure is very beautiful and is clearly visible if the iron meteorite is cut into plates, polished and then etched in a weak solution of nitric acid. In kamacite crystals discovered during this process, the average width of the bands is measured, and the resulting figure is used to divide iron meteorites into structural classes. Iron with a fine stripe (less than 1 mm) is called “fine-structured octahedrite”, with a wide stripe “coarse octahedrite”.
Stone view of meteorite
The largest group of meteorites is stone, they formed from the outer crust of a planet or asteroid. Many stony meteorites, especially those found on the surface of our planet for a long time, are very similar to ordinary earthly rocks, and it takes an experienced eye to find such a meteorite in the field. Newly fallen rocks have a black, shiny surface that results from the surface burning in flight, and the vast majority of rocks contain enough iron to be attracted to a powerful magnet.
Some stony meteorites contain small, colorful, grain-like inclusions known as "chondrules." These tiny grains originated from the solar nebula, therefore, even before the formation of our planet and the entire Solar System, making them the oldest known matter available for study. Stony meteorites containing these chondrules are called "chondrites".
Space rocks without chondrules are called "achondrites." These are volcanic rocks formed by volcanic activity on their “parent” space objects, where melting and recrystallization erased all traces of ancient chondrules. Achondrites contain little or no iron, making it more difficult to find than other meteorites, although specimens are often coated with a glossy crust that looks like enamel paint.
Stone view of meteorite from the Moon and Mars
Can we really find Moon and Martian rocks on the surface of our own planet? The answer is yes, but they are extremely rare. More than one hundred thousand lunar and approximately thirty Martian meteorites have been discovered on Earth, all of which belong to the achondrite group.
The collision of the surface of the Moon and Mars with other meteorites threw fragments into open space and some of them fell to Earth. From a financial point of view, lunar and Martian samples are among the most expensive meteorites. In collector's markets, their price reaches thousands of dollars per gram, making them several times more expensive than if they were made of gold.
Stone-iron type of meteorite
The least common of the three main types - stone-iron, accounts for less than 2% of all known meteorites. They consist of approximately equal parts of iron-nickel and stone, and are divided into two classes: pallasite and mesosiderite. Stony-iron meteorites formed at the boundary of the crust and mantle of their “parent” bodies.
Pallasites are perhaps the most alluring of all meteorites and are definitely of great interest to private collectors. Pallasite consists of an iron-nickel matrix filled with olivine crystals. When olivine crystals are pure enough to display an emerald green color, they are known as gem perodot. Pallasites got their name in honor of the German zoologist Peter Pallas, who described the Russian Krasnoyarsk meteorite, found near the capital of Siberia in the 18th century. When a pallasite crystal is cut into slabs and polished, it becomes translucent, giving it an ethereal beauty.
Mesosiderites are the smaller of the two lithic-iron groups. They are composed of iron-nickel and silicates, and are usually attractive in appearance. The high contrast of the silver and black matrix, when the plate is cut and sanded, and the occasional inclusions, results in a very unusual appearance. The word mesosiderite comes from the Greek for "half" and "iron" and they are very rare. In thousands of official catalogs of meteorites, there are less than a hundred mesosiderites.
Classification of meteorite types
The classification of meteorites is a complex and technical subject and the above is intended only as a guide. brief overview Topics. Classification methods have changed several times over the years last years; known meteorites were reclassified into another class.
27% of all meteorites stored in collections are iron (formally called siderites), but, according to statistics of finds in Antarctica, they make up only 6% of the number of falls. This is due to the fact that they break down much more slowly than other meteorites and because they are much more visible and easier to find.
The largest known meteorites are iron ones. The largest of them all is at the impact site in Goba, Namibia. It was opened in 1920. and its weight is estimated at 70 tons. The second heaviest meteorite is in the Museum of Natural History in New York. It was found in Cape York, Greenland, and brought by ship in the late 19th century, weighing 59 tons.
There is great variety among iron meteorites and it has always been difficult to classify them. In fact, they are divided into 13 groups (IAB, IC, IIAB, IIC, etc.) according to their chemical composition, Special attention pay attention to the amount of gallium, germanium and iridium contained in meteorites in hundredths of a percent.
Chemical and statistical analyzes show characteristic distribution patterns that allow us to classify these meteorites. However, even now 25% of them are defined as “anomalous”, since they do not fit into already known distribution structures.
Iron meteorites are also classified according to their internal structure or nickel content. Non-iron meteorites have been found to contain less than 5% nickel. It has been established that iron meteorites consist of a mixture of two different minerals with the same chemical formula(Fe, Ni), but with different structures - kamacite and taenite. The predominance of one or the other mineral depends on the cooling conditions and the percentage of nickel content.
- Octahedrites
they have an 8-sided structure and contain from 7 to 15% nickel. Etching the polished surface of a meteorite plate with a solution of nitric acid reveals a pattern of octahedrite structure, consisting of kamacite stripes in 4 planes, intersecting each other at an angle of 60º, the fourth plane is parallel to the surface. These planes are bounded by taenite and the space between them is filled with a microcrystalline mixture of these minerals, called plessite, they form Widmanstätten figures resulting from the cooling of this iron-nickel alloy. The system of lines intersecting each other parallel to two, three or more axes varies depending on the angle of the crystallization surface under consideration.
Since the time of Chermak's study, 6 subgroups are known, based on the width of the kamacite lines, because there is a direct relationship between this width and the nickel content. These subgroups are coded as Ogg, Og, Om, Of, Off, Opl (from “very coarse structure” to “very fine structure”).
- Ataxites
their structure is not visible to the naked eye (which is why they are named that way), because the width of the Widmanstätten figures decreases the more, the more nickel there is in the meteorite, and they completely disappear when its content exceeds 15%. The amount of nickel can reach 60%.
- Hexahedrites
they contain 5-6% nickel and are combined into large hexahedrons (cubes) of kamacite. They could even be just one crystal (cube) destroyed after being hit. If the surface of a cube is treated with nitric acid, a pattern of parallel stripes, Neumann lines, can be obtained. They were formed by pressure and stress on kamacite temperatures ranging from 300ºC to 600ºC. And if the sample consists of several crystals, then the orientation of the lines will be different on each of them.
When finding a suspicious stone or piece of iron, many are immediately interested in how to identify a meteorite. To really make sure that this is an object that is of extraterrestrial origin, you need to figure out what they are like. Another parameter that those lucky enough to find a meteorite want to know about is its cost. But it is not so easy to determine it at home. How much a meteorite is worth can depend on many factors, some of which are not so obvious at first glance.
meteorite flight
Definition of meteorite
Meteorites are divided into three categories: stone, iron and mixed. Since iron is found in most meteorites, the first thing to do is to check whether the stone you find has magnetic properties. In addition, meteorites are typically heavier than rock and have a higher concentration of nickel than any terrestrial rock.
The largest meteorite found is Goba; according to some sources, its weight was about 60 tons.
The most difficult question to answer is how to recognize a meteorite at home if you come across a sample of a mixed structure. Typically the ratio of iron and silicate materials is 1 to 1. And they exist in two types: pallasite and mesosiderite. The latter are rare.
The most common are stone meteorites; they account for up to 95% of all finds. Iron meteorites are found in 5% of cases.
This is what part of a meteorite looks like
If you examine the meteorite under a magnifying glass, you will find spots of iron inside it, but in addition, there are also mineral inclusions that have a spherical shape and are called chondrules.
The material surrounding such patches of iron and chondrule is called the matrix. Chondrules are formed in a vacuum environment and at zero gravity, which is why they have this shape.
On the surface of the meteorite you can see what is called the melting crust of the meteorite. It is a thin veneer of black material and is formed during the entry of a meteoroid into the earth's atmosphere. Outwardly, it is very reminiscent of coal, and if the meteorite is of the stone type, it has an outer part that looks like concrete.
Another important indicator, which helps at home to attribute the find specifically to a meteorite - these are regmaglypts. These are structures formed as a meteorite passes through the atmosphere. They may appear as grooves, buckets, ridges or depressions on the surface. Such structures are formed where the surface was less dense and melted under the influence of high temperatures. Such indentations have another name - fingerprints. They were given this name because the finger usually fits well into such structures.
If the meteorite is cut, Widmanstät structures can be seen inside. This is a type of metallographic structure of alloys that has correct location elements in the form of plates, polygons or needles. They form an alloy of crystalline structures. Such patterns appear when, under the influence low temperatures space, different elements of crystalline structures do not have the opportunity to mix.
Other factors that will help you identify a meteorite at home are:
- The thickness of the melting crust should not exceed 1 mm. If it is thick, then it is an earth stone.
- Meteorites that fell not so long ago should not have cavities. However, if the sample has been stored in the ground for a long time, it may have them due to corrosion of metallic inclusions.
- So far, layered meteorites have not been found; any find with such a structure is of terrestrial origin.
- A sample with inclusions of blue or red color is not a meteorite.
- If a stone is similar in structure to metal and is not magnetic at all, then it is not a meteorite. Of course, there are non-magnetic metals, but they haven't fallen from the sky yet.
- Meteorites have a characteristic shape. It is difficult to describe it, but having some experience in this, it will be very difficult to confuse the meteorite with an earthly stone.
These are characteristics that indicate that you have a meteorite in your hands. If you still doubt the origin of your find, then you should turn to professionals. There are entire communities that are engaged in the search and study of meteorites. People interested in this are called meteorite hunters.
Any meteorites after the search must be examined and recorded. This is done to help scientists study them. After registering them with the scientific community, documents will be issued for the meteorite confirming the authenticity of the find. So you can ask for such documents when purchasing.
Meteorite Sikhote-Alin
Meteorite price
As with other collectibles, its price can be determined by various factors. Among them: the type, rarity of the find, the history associated with its fall, aesthetic appeal, weight and many others.
- The cost of most stone meteorites is low. Unclassified stony chondrites will have a price of about half a dollar per gram. On some meteorites that have a more attractive appearance, it can be 2 or 3 times larger.
- Iron meteorites are somewhat more expensive. For example, the Sikhote-Alin meteorite, which fell in 1947 in the territory Soviet Union and was found in whole fragments, costing approximately $2-3 per gram. It is highly prized among collectors as it has sculptural qualities.
- Pallasites - one of the subtypes of stony-iron meteorites - are much more expensive. Firstly, because they are rarer, and secondly, because of their content precious metals. They are much more beautiful, and when processed they have excellent qualities - strength and resistance to destruction. Specimens of this extraterrestrial breed are valued at $20-40 per gram.
- Particularly rare meteorites are those that are of lunar or Martian origin. They cost even more. The price of such meteorites exceeds the price of the most popular precious metal - gold - 40 times, and reaches $1000 per gram.
One of the criteria for evaluating a meteorite is the unusual nature of its origin. For example, a meteorite that, when it fell, destroyed someone’s apartment or car, can be highly valued. The assessment of the meteorite will also be influenced by whether it was noticed, or even better, captured on a photo or video camera during its fall. It is interesting that some collectors are looking for just such a meteorite, which fell on some significant date for them. A stone that is described in the scientific literature will be more expensive.
Sometimes the world's largest museums buy meteorites from hunters or sales dealers. Such purchases subsequently have a label or museum number, which can also significantly affect their value. Particularly prized are meteorites from the American Museum of Natural History of New York City or the Natural History Museum of London.
Some of the most famous meteorite collectors were Harvey Nininger and Glenn Goose. They had large collection. If such a well-known collection contained and referenced a particular meteorite specimen, then the remaining specimens of that meteorite immediately became much more valuable.
One day in 1992, a meteorite fell on the luggage compartment of a car in Kuntukki. The weight of this meteorite was a little more than twelve kilograms, but it itself belonged to unremarkable chondrites. The meteorite was named Peekskill. However, its provenance makes it unique and coveted by collectors around the world. If an ordinary stone meteorite can be purchased for only 0.5-1 dollar per gram, then a Peekskill sample can be purchased 100-200 times more expensive, and it will not be easy to find someone who will sell it to you.
One more important point What can significantly increase the value of a found meteorite is the unusualness of its shape. Basically, it is iron meteorites that have particularly beautiful shapes. Some collectors are so attracted to them that they are willing to pay considerable sums for them. A meteorite acquires this shape during fiery processing - passing through the densest layers of the atmosphere. As it flies, such a hot iron meteorite can acquire rather unusual sculptural and aesthetic forms.
If you want to buy a meteorite
When purchasing, it is important to remember that since meteorites are a very expensive product, the reputation of the seller comes first. A large number of fake meteorites are sold and bought every day in the world, so be careful.
Meteorite lots at the largest auctions in the world are often replete with such announcements: “meteorite of excellent museum quality” and so on. But this is in best case scenario craftiness. Very often this turns out to be just a hoax. There are very few examples of meteorites of this quality in the world. Before making a purchase, carefully study the seller’s rating and reviews, and also do not hesitate to ask questions about the origin of the meteorite and its accompanying documents.
Websites that sell meteorites and give truthful information about them have the IMCA logo. This logo signifies that the seller is a member of the International Meteorite Collectors Organization and adheres to its code. Such an organization ensures that its conditions are met, primarily the reliability of information about the sample being sold. Such a logo will guarantee that you will not part with your money in vain.
Finding a real meteorite is not so easy. Every day, 5-6 tons of such objects fall to the ground, which is approximately 2 thousand tons per year. Most meteorites that fall to Earth weigh from a few grams to several kilograms. It is important to contact only trusted dealers, and you can find them using coordinates on collector communities. You can check the authenticity of a meteorite at home, but it is better to contact a specialist.
The Chelyabinsk meteorite is an ordinary chondrite, which contains metallic iron, olivine and sulfites, and also contains a melting crust. Received the name Chebarkul.
The meteorite raised from the bottom of Lake Chebarkul will be examined and then transferred for storage to the Chelyabinsk Regional Museum of Local Lore. The lifting of the celestial body from the water will be carried out by the Aleut company from Yekaterinburg. Divers managed to calculate the coordinates of the place where the meteorite is located and its approximate dimensions. The meteorite, measuring 50x90 centimeters, is located at a depth of nine meters.
The Chelyabinsk meteorite is a chondrite. Carbonaceous chondrites are “loose” meteorites of silicate composition, part of the core of icy comets. Tunguska meteorite was just such a comet - a giant ball of dirty ice with dust and stones. The destruction of a celestial body over Nevada and California in 2012, the Chelyabinsk meteorite are phenomena of the same order.
“The Chelyabinsk meteorite became an almost complete copy of the Tunguska meteorite and largely explained its phenomenon to scientists,” said Vitaly Romeiko, Moscow astronomer, head. Zvenigorod Observatory, leader of 24 Tunguska expeditions. - The analogy is direct. In both cases, the explosion occurred several kilometers above the Earth’s surface. Both celestial bodies flew at the same time of day - early in the morning. Both of them ended up in the same geographical region - Siberia. The whole complex atmospheric phenomena- the passage of a superbolide, the glow of which was brighter than the sun, a white condensation trail in the sky, hissing, crackling that accompanied the fall - the picture of the explosion matches the description very well.
Kunashak is a stone chondrite meteorite with a total weight of 200 kg (about 20 fragments) that fell on July 11, 1949 in the Kunashaksky district of the Chelyabinsk region. It was named after the village of Kunashak, the regional center of the Chelyabinsk region, near which it was found.
Pervomaisky meteorite.
A chondrite meteorite weighing 49,000 grams fell on December 26, 1933 in the Yuryev-Polsky district of the Ivanovo region, in the Pervomaisky village. “According to eyewitnesses, at six o’clock in the evening on December 26, 1933, a huge, moon-sized, extremely dazzling fireball with lightning speed swept across the sky from southeast to northwest across almost the entire Ivanovo region, scattered behind the Yuryev-Polsky fireworks cascade sparks and went out, erupting for tens of kilometers around with thunderclaps and a long-lasting roar. Glass rattled, huts shook, panic seized the population...” L.A. Kulik, 1934
Part of the Mill Sutter meteorite weighing 17.7 grams.
"A bright fireball moving from east to west was seen on April 22, 2012 in California and Nevada at 7:51 a.m. local daylight time. Mille Sutter is an unusual type of carbonaceous chondrite.
Chinese tektite, 1905 Tektites arise from melting earth's crust at powerful blow meteorite, and then scatter from the crater over long distances
Stone meteorite Pultusk, type - Chondrite H5. Weight 11 gr.
The fall occurred on January 30, 1868 at 7:00 pm near the town of Pułtusk, approximately 60 kilometers northeast of Warsaw. Thousands of people witnessed the impact of a large fireball followed by detonation and a shower of small debris falling onto ice, ground and houses over an area of about 127 sq km. The estimated number of fragments was 68,780.
The total mass of the meteorites is 8863 kg. The vast majority of the fragments were small (a few grams), now known as Pultusk peas.
Gujba stone meteorite, a rare meteorite plate weighing 41.39 g.
The Gujba meteorite is a carbonaceous chondrite, bencubbinite type. A meteorite weighing about 100 kg was broken by local residents.
Fall: April 3, 1984 Yobe, Nigeria
The Ellerslie meteorite fell onto the roof of a house in South Auckland in May 2004. It was chipped from falling on the iron roof.
Antarctic meteorite.
Thin section of crystalline chondrite with olivine-orthopyroxene content
Plainview meteorite. Stone meteorite that fell in 1917 in Texas
Plainview meteorite
The Kirbyville (Eucrite) meteorite fell in Texas, USA, on November 12, 1906. With a total mass of 97.7 g, it is an achondrite.
Portales Valley, Roosevelt County, New Mexico, USA Fall: 1998 June 13 7:30 MDT
Ordinary chondrite (H6). As it fell, explosions were heard and a streak of smoke was visible in the sky.
Middlesbrough meteorite, England. Fell on March 14, 1881. Weight 1.5 kg.
The meteorite belongs to the category of chondrites. Its age is approximately 4500 million years
A 3D scan of the object was carried out by NASA specialists in 2010.
Pasamonte Year of fall: 1933, USA Weight: 5.1 kg Achondrite
H5 Dar Bou Nali South Morocco
Chondrite. Italy, 1910
Carbonate chondrite
GaoGuenie Meteorite
