An unlikely alliance between the native Moqoit people and leading Argentine scientists has thwarted plans to ship the world's second largest meteorite to Germany as a prestigious art exhibit. Read more
Un lector del pueblo de Gancedo comparte con nosotros el ejemplar que se expone en su ciudad. Dice que cada año se celebra allí la "Fiesta nacional del meteorito". Read more
The nearly 5,000-pound meteorite is one of thousands of Campo del Cielo meteorites from the Santiago del Estero and Chaco provinces of Argentina. These silicated iron meteorites - part of a central core of a celestial object that exploded as it entered the Earth's atmosphere - slammed into a 200- by 40-mile section of Argentina some 30,000 years ago. Read more
Campo del Cielo meteorite Iron, coarse octahedrite Gran Chaco, Argentina
Nearly 4000 years after having collided with Earth, Campo del Cielo ("Valley of the Sky") meteorites were first written about in 1576 by Spanish explorers when their unearthly origin had yet to be understood. More than 100 tons of meteorites have since been recovered from the Campo site. The first large meteorite displayed at the British Museum of Natural History in 1826 was a Campo, and several large masses have been graced with names such as El Taco, El Toba, and El Mataco and can today be found in the foremost museums throughout the world.
Trying to spur local interest in scientific learning, two generations of Hemet High School alumni donated two pieces of rock from outer space to their alma mater Tuesday, including an 80-pound meteorite. The iron and nickel pieces were fragments of a meteor that weighed more than 100 tons and broke up into many pieces as it fell to Earth 4,000 to 6,000 years ago, said Ralph Shook, a member of Hemet High's class of 1964 and president of Science is for Kids, a Hemet-based nonprofit organisation.
A 75-pound nickel-and-iron meteorite resembling Michigan's Lower Peninsula sold at auction Sunday for $20,000, less than its expected price of $32,500 to $40,000.
It hurtled through deep space and seared through the Earth's atmosphere, only to wind up as a child-friendly display. A 379-pound nickel-iron meteorite made its debut this week at Kidspace Children's Museum, where it now occupies a prime spot in the museum's Boone Nature Exchange area. The meteorite landed in Argentina and was discovered in 1570. It was donated to the museum by SuSan Nelson and Walter Witkowski.