Sikhote-Alin Meteorite | From The Largest Meteorite Shower Since The Dawn Of Civilization, An Unusually-Shaped Meteorite

Similar to lot 119, this is a choice example of a complete Sikhote Alin meteorite. It originates from one of the most frightening natural phenomena ever experienced: the largest meteorite shower in thousands of 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 thousands witnessed the event from up to 300 kilometers away. Gratefully no one was injured as the epicenter of the impact was 60 kilometers from the closest village, Luchegorsk, Siberia. The low altitude explosion which resulted in the shrapnel specimens (see lot 119) terrified witnesses with one observer likening this to the unzipping of the sky. A famous painting of the event captured by artist and eye-witness P. I. Medvedev was reproduced as a postage stamp issued by the Soviet government in 1957 to commemorate the impact’s 10^th anniversary — two of which also accompany this offering.

There are two types of Sikhote-Alin meteorites: the jagged and twisted specimens that resulted from the low-altitude explosion described and the gently scalloped specimens that broke free of the main mass in the upper atmosphere and acquired the aerodynamic thumb prints known as regmaglypts. This is an example of the latter but with an interesting twist: its shape is the result of it cleaving along crystalline planes in the upper atmosphere. Both faces of this fine individual are covered by regmaglypts, evidencing the frictional heating and surficial melting that occurred as the meteorite plunged to Earth. Blanketed with a gunmetal patina and chrome highlights, this is a splendid meteorite from one of the most famous meteorite events of all time.