7 most massive single meteorites on earth

8/13/2019 7 Most Massive Single Meteorites on Earth

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7 Most Massive Single Meteorites on Earth

Photo: Ahnighito or Tent meteorite c.1894: Photographer unknown via Meteorite Recon

Like fugitives on the run from distant solar systems, meteors hurtle through the earths atmosphere,lighting up the eyes of observers on the ground. Often these fireballs of metal and rock burn up in ablaze of glory, and many do not survive their impact with the arths surface. !hose that do thoughstart a more settled life here on arth as meteorites. "ome might even claim to be the new sheriffs intown # theyre that big and resistant to weathering.

Back in the day: Willamette meteorite pre-1923

Photo:Photographer unknown via NASA

$eres our magnificent % of the most massive known single meteorites on earth # iron monsters thathave remained in one piece for thousands of years.

7 Willamette! "S#: Estimated $eight: 1% % tonnes

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Photo:Photo: Dante A ighieri

&t %.' metre s( and )*.* tonnes, +illamette is the largest meteorite found in the ", a peculiarly pittedlump composed of -) iron and %./0 nickel, with no impact crater preserved at its original site inOregon.

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#spiring s&permen: '$o (oys sitting in the Willamette Meteorite 1911

Photo:Photo: American Mu!eum o" Natura #i!tor$ pu% i!he& in the New 'ork Time!

!hough revered by 1ative &mericans # who still contend it should be returned # +illamettes moderndiscovery was made by settler llis $ughes in )-20. 3ecognising its significance, $ughes spent threemonths of hard labour moving the meteorite 4 of a mile from land owned by the Oregon 5ron and "teel6ompany to try to claim it as his own. $e was caught however, and the meteorite was subse(uentlybought for 70/,222, later to be displayed in the &merican 8useum of 1atural $istory.

) M(osi ! 'an*ania: Estimated $eight: 1) tonnes

Photo:Photographer unknown via (en!en Meteorite!

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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Willamette_Meteorite,_AMNH,_New_York_Times,_1911.JPGhttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Willamette_Meteorite,_AMNH,_New_York_Times,_1911.JPGhttp://offers.environmentalgraffiti.com/flight/in-new-york-united-stateshttp://offers.environmentalgraffiti.com/flight/in-new-york-united-stateshttp://www.jensenmeteorites.com/Largest/mbosinew.jpghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Willamette_Meteorite,_AMNH,_New_York_Times,_1911.JPGhttp://offers.environmentalgraffiti.com/flight/in-new-york-united-stateshttp://www.jensenmeteorites.com/Largest/mbosinew.jpg


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Officially discovered in )-92 # though at the time believed to be a stone sacred to indigenous people #8bosi is !anzanias meteorite giant, a large piece of space metal estimated at )/ tonnes. &s withmany meteorites, there is no sign of the crater it must have created on striking the arths surface,which may indicate that it rolled like a boulder after landing or simply affirm that it has been here forthousands of years.

+n a pedestal: M(osi meteorite 19)7

Photo:Photographer unknown via Ar)uivo! Do *n!o ito

Back in 1930, Mbosi was only half visible, so deeply was it buried in the soil; today thesoil around it has been excavated and a plinth constructed beneath it, thou h its ori inal

position is said to be preserved! "! # palilik, $reenland% &sti'ated wei ht% 20tonnes

Photo:Photo: +unkMonk

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iscovered in )-/9 by ;agn or piece of?reenlands 6ape @ork meteorite and the smaller of the 6apes two celestial visitors that make our topseven. "till, at a less than modest 02 tonnes, itAs not to be scoffed at, and can be seen at the?eological 8useum in 6openhagen.

Shi,ting a l&mp: #gpalilik meteorite (eing moved

Photo:Photographer unknown via ,a%rie

!he 6ape @ork meteorite from which the &gpalilik is derived smashed into the arth almost )2,222years ago and is one of the largest iron meteorites on the planet.


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!he great =acubirito meteorite is undoubtedly 8eBicos finest and one of the largest single spaceob>ects to have been sent on a collision course with the arth and survived. stimated to weigh 00tonnes, this crooked, fourCmetreClong slab of iron is on display at the 6entro de 6iencias de "inaloa in6uliacan, where it draws visitors keen to measure up against it.

/ig this: Bac&(irito meteorite ,o&nd in 10)3

Photo:Photographer unknown via Meteorite Art

!he monster of a meteorite that is =acubirito was discovered by &merican geologist ?ilbert llis =aileyin )'-0 # who had been sent by 6hicago >ournal the 5nterocean to 6entral and "outh &merica # andeBcavated with the help of local people. Like all meteorites, it was named after the place where it wasfound. & mighty fallen shooting star.

3 #hnighito! ape ork! reenland: 31 tonnes

Photo:Photo: -Smith /

!he largest chunk of the 6ape @ork meteorite, &hnighito, known to the 5nuit as the !ent, is at 9)tonnes the heaviest meteorite ever moved by man. 3umours of the ?reenland iron had reachedscientific circles in )')', but it was )'-D before the &merican &rctic eBplorer 3obert Peary finallylocated its source # with the help of a nameless local guide.

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http://meteorite-art.com/museum%20et%20collections%20ideal/page_01.htmhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/vsmithuk/3146433602/http://offers.environmentalgraffiti.com/cruise/in-greenlandhttp://offers.environmentalgraffiti.com/cruise/in-greenlandhttp://meteorite-art.com/museum%20et%20collections%20ideal/page_01.htmhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/vsmithuk/3146433602/http://offers.environmentalgraffiti.com/cruise/in-greenland


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4recario&s operation: 'he #hnighito (eing la&nched on (oard 4eary5s ship

Photo:Photographer unknown via Meteorite Recon

5t took Peary three years to get the heavy meteorites onto ships # not to mention the building of?reenlands only railroad plus invaluable 5nuit help # but the eBplorer did contrive to sell his prizes tothe &merican 8useum of 1atural $istory for a cool 7D2,222. &t the museum, where the meteoriteremains to this day, a display stand needed to be built whose supports reach directly into the bedrockbelow to hold &hnighitos massive )0.) metre s(Cbulk.

2 El haco! #rgentina: Estimated $eight: 37 tonnes

Photo:Photographer unknown via P aneta Pia

!he largest fragment of the iron meteorite that splintered to form the 6ampo del 6ielo group ofmeteorites and the /2 s( km crater field of the same name in &rgentina, l 6haco is a colossal chuck

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of a space ob>ect. 5t is the second heaviest singleCpiece meteorite recovered on arth # though thetotal mass of the 6ampo del 6ielo fragments would have it claim the title at a canter.

6allel&iah: ampo del ielo5s 37-tonne El haco p&t into scale

Photo:Photographer unknown via (en!en Meteorite!

l 6haco was located in )-/- at a depth of * metres using a metal detector, though its surroundingcraters # estimated at D,222#*,222 years old # were reported in )*%/ and already well known to theaboriginal inhabitants of the area. "ensationally, in )--2 a local &rgentinean police officer foiled a plotby meteorite hunter 3obert $aag to steal l 6haco, which at the time had already been moved out of

the country.

1 6o(a! ami(ia Estimated $eight: )8 tonnes

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Photo:Photo: co&a

!he runaway winner at approaching twice the weight of its nearest rival, 1amibias $oba must havetaken some stopping. 8easuring over /.* metres s(, this /2Ctonne slab of metal is believed to havebeen slowed by the arthAs atmosphere to the point where it fell to the surface at a speed that left itintact and barely buried. 5ts even been suggested that the meteorites unusually flat shape caused it toskip along much as a skipping stone bounces across water. 1ice moves.

What have $e here: +ne o, the earliest kno$n photos o, the 6o(a! aro&nd 1938

Photo:Photographer unknown via ,iant 0r$!ta !

!hought to have landed less than '2,222 years ago, $oba is composed of about 'D iron and )/nickel, and remains the most massive known naturallyCoccurring hunk of iron at the arthAs surface.

ue to its large mass, its not been moved from where it fell since being discovered in )-02 by a

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farmer ploughing his field # who heard a loud scraping before his oBen came to a rather abrupt halt.$aving suffered much vandalism, this beast is now visited by thousands of tourists a year.

+ne mighty meteorite: Early traveller visiting the e.posed 6o(a! aro&nd19%%

Photo:Photographer unknown via ,iant 0r$!ta !

1ote: &t a rumoured 0' tonnes, &rmanty in Ein>iang, 6hina should have made the rollCcall, butunfortunately information and pictures pertaining to this meteorite were too scarce to come by.

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http://giantcrystals.strahlen.org/africa/hoba.htmhttp://giantcrystals.strahlen.org/africa/hoba.htm

7 most massive single meteorites on earth

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