It was part of a space rock that created a dramatic fireball over Uppsala.
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A 30-pound chunk of iron meteorite found in Uppsala, Sweden.
(Image credit: Andreas Forsberg/Anders Zetterqvist.) |
A half-melted hunk of iron-rich rock found in Uppsala,
Sweden, is part of a meteorite that fell there in November 2020.
The lumpy meteorite is about the size of a loaf of bread and
weighs around 31 pounds (14 kilograms), according to the Swedish Museum of
Natural History. It was once part of a larger space rock, probably weighing
more than 9 tons (8.1 metric tons), that created a dramatic fireball over
Uppsala on Nov. 7.
After that impact, scientists at the Swedish Museum of
Natural History calculated the likely landing site and found some small
fragments of iron meteorite near the village of Ådalen, according to a museum statement. The fragments were only about 0.1 inches (3 millimeters) long, but
the investigation also turned up a boulder and a tree root that had clearly
been hit by something heavy.
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Geologists Andreas Forsberg and Anders Zetterqvist hold the
meteorite they discovered, which fell over Sweden on Nov. 7, 2020. (Image
credit: Andreas Forsberg/Anders Zetterqvist) |
Stockholm geologists Andreas Forsberg and Anders Zetterqvist
headed back to the site and found a much larger piece — likely the one that
smashed the boulder. The piece was about 230 feet (70 meters) from the area
where the fragments were found, partially buried in moss. One side is flattened
and cracked, likely from the collision, and the meteorite is pockmarked with
circular depressions. These depressions are common in iron meteorites,
according to the museum, and they form when the space rock partially melts
during its passage through the atmosphere.
"It is the first sure example of a newly fallen iron
meteorite in our country," Swedish Museum of Natural History curator Dan
Holtstam said in a statement. It's also the first time that any meteorite
fragments linked to an observed fireball have been recovered in Sweden for 66
years.
"Since we now know that it is an iron meteorite, it is
possible to fine-tune the simulations of the meteorite fall, University of
Uppsala astronomer Eric Stempels said in the statement. "It is very likely
that the meteorite that has now been found is the largest existing piece after
the originally about 9-ton-heavy space rock. Some smaller pieces are probably
left in the area."
Iron meteorites are the second-most common kind of meteorite
that land on Earth, after stony meteorites. They originate in the cores of
planets and asteroids, which means they can hold clues to the formation of the
solar system.