September of 2009 marked the 40th anniversary of the Murchison meteorite fall, one of the most important meteorite falls in human history. This carbonaceous chondrite was witnessed entering the Earth’s atmosphere between 10:45 and 11:00 AM September 28th, 1969, in Victoria, Australia. The meteorite broke up into pieces as it fell, and several fragments were recovered, totaling over 100 kg. Some specimens were […]
Category: Meteorites
Shergotty
Shergotty is a 5 kg martian meteorite that fell August 25th, 1865, in Sherghati, India. Shergotty is an achondrite belonging to the SNC meteorite group, which encompasses Shergottites, Nakhlites and Chassignites. These meteorites have been strongly linked to Mars through comparison to the isotopic composition of the Viking spacecraft's measurements of the martian atmosphere. Shergottites, […]
Johnstown
The Johnstown meteorite fell the afternoon of July 6, 1924, in Weld County, Colorado. Johnstown is an achondrite (meaning that it formed on a differentiated planetary body, and does not contain chondrules) from the diogenite group. Part of the HED (Howardites, Eucrites and Diogenites) group of achondrites, diogenites are believed to originate in the crust […]
Juvinas
Juvinas is an achondrite meteorite that fell in Ardèche, France, on June 15, 1821. Juvinas is a monomict breccia belonging to the eucrite group. Eucrites are the most common type of achondrite meteorite falls (vs. finds) and are believed to form from cooling of magma on the surface of Asteroid 4-Vesta; the number 4 refers […]
Ensisheim
Ensisheim is an LL6 ordinary chondrite. The large (127 kg, 280 lb) meteorite fell on November 7, 1492 into a field outside the village of Ensisheim, which was part of Germany at the time. King Maximilian, who passed through Ensisheim three weeks after the fall, declared it to be a holy sign and it was […]
