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Only a few meteorites make their passage through the
atmosphere in one piece. Most of them are fragmented due to the high
pressures to which they are subjected. Sometimes they may burst into
only a few fragments, at other times, into thousands of individual
pieces creating a meteorite shower. Only a few pieces from such a shower
actually arrive on Earth since smaller fragments burn up during their
passage. However, when the initial pieces are large enough, it sometimes
literally "rains stones", and thousands of meteorites reach the ground. |
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Most Prominent Meteorite Showers & Strewnfields
One of the most impressive meteorite showers of the
last century was the fall of Sikhote-Alin. On February 12, 1947, a
huge iron meteoroid exploded over the mountains of eastern Siberia,
Russia. Its fireball was as large as the sun, and a huge smoke train
extended behind it (see the picture to the right, painted by the
Russian artist and eyewitness P. I. Medvedev). More than 70 tons of
individuals and fragments have been collected from its strewnfield,
making it the largest fall in history. There is only one comparable
prehistoric fall, Campo del Cielo from Argentina which produced an
even larger strewnfield than the Sikhote-Alin fall, and which also
produced some of the largest iron meteorites known, such as the 37
ton giant "El Chaco". The following lists show the most prominent
meteorite showers of historic and prehistoric times.
Historic Meteorite Showers
|
Sikhote-Alin |
Russia |
1947 |
> 15,000 |
> 70.00 |
| Jilin |
China |
1976 |
> 300 |
> 4.00 |
| Allende |
Mexico |
1969 |
> 5,000 |
> 2.00 |
| Pultusk |
Poland |
1868 |
> 180,000 |
> 2.00 |
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Knyahinya |
Ukraine |
1866 |
> 1,000 |
> 0.50 |
|
Millbillillie |
Australia |
1960 |
> 500 |
> 0.33 |
|
Bruderheim |
Canada |
1960 |
> 500 |
> 0.30 |
| Mocs |
Romania |
1930 |
> 3,000 |
> 0.30 |
| Holbrook |
USA |
1912 |
> 14,000 |
> 0.22 |
| Mbale |
Uganda |
1992 |
> 500 |
> 0.15 |
|
Juancheng |
China |
1997 |
> 1,000 |
> 0.15 |
| L'Aigle |
France |
1803 |
> 2,000 |
> 0.04 |
Prehistoric Strewnfields
| Campo
del Cielo |
Argentina |
1576 |
thousands |
> 100.00 |
| Canyon
Diabolo |
USA |
1891 |
thousands |
> 30.00 |
| Gibeon |
Namibia |
1836 |
thousands |
> 26.00 |
|
Mundrabilla |
Australia |
1911 |
hundreds |
> 24.00 |
| Nantan |
China |
1958 |
hundreds |
> 10.00 |
| Brenham |
USA |
1882 |
hundreds |
> 4.30 |
|
Vaca Muerta |
Chile |
1861 |
hundreds |
> 3.80 |
| Toluca |
Mexico |
1776 |
hundreds |
> 3.00 |
| Henbury |
Australia |
1931 |
hundreds |
> 2.00 |
| Imilac |
Chile |
1822 |
hundreds |
> 1.00 |
| Brahin |
Belarus |
1810 |
hundreds |
> 1.00 |
|
Plainview |
USA |
1917 |
hundreds |
> 0.70 |
This listing excludes the extended strewnfields from
the hot deserts of Northern Africa (Libya, Algeria, Morocco), and
Arabia, i.e., some well-known meteorite finds such as Northwest
Africa 869, and Ghubara which also comprise hundreds of individuals
and fragments, and total known weights of more than one metric ton.
These meteorites might be paired with several other hot desert finds
from the same locations, and therefore it is hard to determine a
true total known weight, or a realistic number of specimens
recovered.
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The Sikhote-Alin Meteorite Fireball
and Smoke Train, Russia, 1947
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Painting by P. I. Medvedev
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El Chaco: The 37 ton Main Mass of
the Campo del Cielo Iron Meteorite
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©
Pigüen N'Onaxa
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Steve Arnold & the 650kg Brenham
Pallasite Main Mass found in 2005
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Photograph by Qynne Arnold
©
WorldRecordMeteorite.com
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