Chergach | |
---|---|
Type | Chondrite |
Structural classification | impact melt breccia |
Class | Ordinary chondrite |
Group | H5 |
Composition | Olivine Fa18.2, pyroxene Fs15.5 Wo1.2 |
Shock stage | S3 |
Weathering grade | W0 |
Country | Mali |
Region | Timbuktu district |
Coordinates | 23°41′47″N5°00′53″W / 23.69639°N 5.01472°W [1] |
Observed fall | Yes |
Fall date | 2 or 3 July 2007, daytime |
TKW | 100 kg [1] |
Strewn field | Yes |
Chergach [1] is a meteorite found at southwest of El Mokhtar, Erg Chech, Timbuktu district, Mali. It fell on 2 or 3 July 2007, in daytime, and was composed of ordinary chondrite (H5).
During 2007 fall and winter about 100 kilograms (220 lb) of meteorites were collected in the Erg Chech, north of Taoudenni. [2] Desert nomads reported that during daytime in July 2007 several detonations were heard over a wide area, a smoke cloud was seen and several stones fell from the sky, however no fireball was reported. Ouled Bleila was the finder of the first meteorites, but he died in October 2007 in a car accident on his way back from the trip to the Chergach strewn field. According to the Tuareg people, the elliptical strewn field stretches for more than 20 kilometres (12 mi). [2]
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with the atmospheric gases cause it to heat up and radiate energy. It then becomes a meteor and forms a fireball, also known as a shooting star; astronomers call the brightest examples "bolides". Once it settles on the larger body's surface, the meteor becomes a meteorite. Meteorites vary greatly in size. For geologists, a bolide is a meteorite large enough to create an impact crater.
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This is a glossary of terms used in meteoritics, the science of meteorites.
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