New Concord is an ordinary (L6) ordinary chondrite that fell in Muskingum County, Ohio. Over thirty individual meteorite fragments, weighing a combined 230 kg (507 lb) fell in a broad swath over eastern central Ohio at approximately 12:45 PM on May 1, 1860. The meteorites are named after the town nearest the largest concentration of […]
L’Aigle
L'Aigle is an ordinary (L6) chondrite that fell in Orme, France on April 26, 1803. The L'Aigle meteorite fall, which produced a shower of over 3,000 stones, proved to European scientists that rocks fall from the sky. Although people had seen meteorites fall before 1803, their stories had typically been doubted by the scientific community. […]
Celebrating 60 years
Since 1961, the Arizona State University Center for Meteorite Studies has amassed and preserved one of the world's largest meteorite collections to enable research in planetary science and cosmochemistry, and to inspire students, educators, and the general public to learn about the Solar System and our place in it. All year, we’ll post stories of […]
Founded on philanthropy
In 1957, Sputnik’s launch put space exploration at the forefront of the American conscience. The following year, Harvey H. Nininger, the famous meteorite hunter and self-taught meteoriticist, sold a portion of his collection to the British Natural History Museum. The Coordinator of Research at Arizona State University, George A. Boyd, was familiar with Nininger’s collection […]
Talampaya
Talampaya is an achondrite that fell in Argentina, in 1995. According to the Meteoritical Bulletin (MB 83): Stories circulating among meteorite dealers tell of a meteorite that fell in Argentina, producing a sonic boom that scared a mountain climber. The climber eventually found the meteorite somewhere down range. The location of the fall may have […]
