Utrecht is an ordinary (L6) chondrite that fell June 2nd, 1843, in the Netherlands.
The meteorite's spectacular fall was described by Dr. E.H. Baumhauer (Annalen der Physik 142(12): 465-506). Three to four explosions, compared to loud cannon fire, were heard within a 25 km radius of the city of Utrecht, followed by a whistling that lasted two to three minutes. While most witnesses were startled by the noise, some initially thought the sound was actually produced by a distant musical performance, or the shouting of children. One of the two stones was seen to fall by a farmer in his field, and almost 10 kg of material were ultimately recovered.
The Utrecht meteorite is one of only five Dutch meteorites, all of which have been witnessed falls.
Read the Meteoritical Bulletin entry for Utrecht, here!
Photo © ASU/CMS.
