Tarda

August's Meteorite of the Month is Tarda, a carbonaceous (C2-ung) chondrite that fell in Morocco on August 25, 2020.

According to the Meteoritical Bulletin (MB 109):

"On Tuesday, 25 August 2020, around 2:30 pm Moroccan time (GMT+1) a fireball was widely witnessed by people in southern Morocco from Alnif, Zagora, Tazarine, and Rich. The fireball trajectory was from the SW to NE. A search was immediately undertaken by local residents and meteorite hunters between Goulmima and Errachidia. Hundreds of people began searching on the same day, and the first piece was found the following day by Alalou Youssef close to his village of Tarda. The fall location is crossed by the national road linking Ouarzazate to Errachidia, and because of the easy access thousands of people soon traveled to the area. National TV channels Al Oula and 2M recorded the activity."

"Several eyewitnesses from areas up to 150 km away were interviewed, and reported three " of a bright yellow, barrel-sized fireball with green edges. The meteor was followed by a thick trail of white smoke that remained suspended for several seconds. The fireball was reported to release little pieces around its edges, witnesses said the fireball was accompanied by a whistle, followed by multiple detonations. One eyewitness reported an almost vertical trajectory. Thousands of small, mostly complete stones were collected ranging from only a few milligrams to 99 g."

In total, 4 kg (8.8 lb) of Tarda were recovered.

Recent research by Center Deputy Director Dr. Devin Schrader and Center Research Scientist Dr. Jemma Davidson concluded that Tarda shares a genetic relationship to the Tagish Lake meteorite and that the two likely originated from the same outer Solar System asteroid. Read more here!

Both Schrader and Davidson, as well as Center Curator Dr. Laurence Garvie, have presented several studies of Tarda, including: