SIKHOTE-ALIN METEORITE — FROM THE LARGEST METEORITE SHOWER SINCE THE BEGINNING OF CIVILIZATION

SIKHOTE-ALIN METEORITE — FROM THE LARGEST METEORITE SHOWER SINCE THE BEGINNING OF CIVILIZATION

Iron, coarse octahedrite – IIAB

Maritime Territory, Siberia, Russia (46° 9' N, 134° 39’ E)

69 x 37 x 19mm (2.75 x 1.5 x 0.75 in.) and 94.4g (0.2 lbs.)

This engaging meteorite flange originates from one of the most frightening natural phenomena ever experienced: the largest meteorite shower in several thousand years. Descending over Siberia's Sikhote-Alin Mountains at 10:30 AM on February 12, 1947, the enormous Sikhote-Alin fireball resulted in more than sixty tons of metallic meteorites raining down upon snowy terrain where Siberian Tigers roam, at the eastern edge of the Asian continent. Multiple craters were created, trees were impaled and gratefully no one was injured as the epicenter of the impact was 60 kilometers from the closest village. There are two types of Sikhote-Alin meteorites: the gently scalloped specimens that broke free of the main mass in the upper atmosphere and acquired the aerodynamic thumb prints known as “regmaglypts”, and the jagged and twisted specimens that resulted from the low-altitude explosion described. This is an example of the latter. Blanketed with a charcoal patina with bronze-hued accents and chrome highlights, this specimen features a rarity: a naturally formed hole. The elongated flange-like shape and rippling texture are a result of this specimen cleaving along a crystalline plane as it then sheared apart during the low altitude explosion prior to impacting Earth. This select example originates from one of the most frightening meteorite showers of modern times.