Winchcombe meteorite

Last updated

Winchcombe
Fragment of the Winchcombe meteorite.JPG
Fragment of the Winchcombe meteorite in the Natural History Museum, London
Type Chondrite [1]
Class Carbonaceous chondrite [1]
Group CM2 [1]
Country England
Region Gloucestershire
Coordinates 51°57′04″N1°58′32″W / 51.9512°N 1.9755°W / 51.9512; -1.9755 [2]
Observed fall Yes
Fall date28 Feb 2021 GMT (UTC)
Found date28 Feb – 1 Mar 2021 GMT (UTC)
TKW 602 grams (21.2 oz)
Commons-logo.svg Related media on Wikimedia Commons

The Winchcombe meteorite is a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite that was observed entering the Earth's atmosphere as a fluorescent green fireball over Gloucestershire, England, at 21:54 on 28 February 2021. Due to a public appeal, fragments were quickly recovered from the village of Winchcombe, enabling it to be collected for analysis before becoming degraded.

Contents

It is a 4.6 billion-year-old meteorite originating from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. [3] [4]

It was the first meteorite found in Britain since 1991. [5] Fragments of the meterorite were displayed at the London Natural History Museum on 17 May 2021. [6]

Observation

Images of the meteoroid falling to Earth were captured by six camera networks of the UK Fireball Alliance, which is led by the Natural History Museum, [7] as well as on the doorbell cameras of private dwellings. [8] There were also over 1,000 eyewitness reports from the UK and elsewhere in Northern Europe, as well as a sonic boom heard in the local area. [1] These observations allowed its trajectory to be reconstructed. A public appeal was issued for fragments. [3]

Recovery

Subsequently, a family found a pile of dark stones and powder on the driveway of their home in Winchcombe. [1] They had heard a sound at the time when the meteorite hit but did not investigate outside until the morning; upon discovering the fragments, they placed them in a bag and these were taken to London for analysis. [9] In total 319 grams (11.3 oz) of material was collected from their driveway and lawn.

In the following days further fragments were found nearby, including the largest single stone from the meteorite found on farmland and weighing 152 grams (5.4 oz), but this split in two during recovery. [1]

On 21 March 2021, meteorite hunter Chris Casey found a 12-gram (0.42 oz) half stone on a grass verge in Woodmancote. This was followed by another find of 17.5 grams (0.62 oz) on 23 March 2021 in Bishop's Cleeve. On 25 March 2021, Casey and Luther Jackson found a 19.2-gram (0.68 oz) stone in Bishop's Cleeve and on 1 April 2021, Jackson, while hunting with Casey and Graham Ensor, found a fragmented 5.2-gram (0.18 oz) stone on a Bishop's Cleeve footpath. [1]

The total amount recovered stands at 602 grams (21.2 oz), comprising hundreds of pieces. [1]

On 8 September 2021, 1 square metre (11 sq ft) of the indented section of asphalt driveway where the meteorite landed was removed and taken to London's Natural History Museum. [10]

Pieces of the Winchcombe meteorite are now part of a display in the Winchcombe Museum, which tells the story of its origins, unexpected arrival and its scientific significance. [11]

Composition and classification

The meteorite is thought to be a carbonaceous chondrite, the first collected on impact in Britain. [12] The fragment did not experience rainfall [13] and was placed in a protected environment within 12 hours of falling to Earth, meaning that the quality of the sample is comparable to those retrieved by probes from asteroids [14] [4] and offers a "near-pristine record of the composition of primitive asteroids." [15] It is of a similar type to that retrieved by the Hayabusa2 mission from the asteroid 162173 Ryugu. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meteorite</span> Solid debris from outer space that hits a planetary surface

A meteorite is a rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winchcombe</span> Market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England

Winchcombe is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Tewkesbury in the county of Gloucestershire, England, it is 6 miles (10 km) north-east of Cheltenham. The population was recorded as 4,538 in the 2011 census and estimated at 5,347 in 2019. The town is located in the Cotswolds and has many features and buildings dating back to medieval times. In 2021 it was the primary strike site of the eponymous Winchcombe meteorite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chondrite</span> Class of stony meteorites made of round grains

A chondrite is a stony (non-metallic) meteorite that has not been modified, by either melting or differentiation of the parent body. They are formed when various types of dust and small grains in the early Solar System accreted to form primitive asteroids. Some such bodies that are captured in the planet's gravity well become the most common type of meteorite by arriving on a trajectory toward the planet's surface. Estimates for their contribution to the total meteorite population vary between 85.7% and 86.2%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbonaceous chondrite</span> Class of chondritic meteorites

Carbonaceous chondrites or C chondrites are a class of chondritic meteorites comprising at least 8 known groups and many ungrouped meteorites. They include some of the most primitive known meteorites. The C chondrites represent only a small proportion (4.6%) of meteorite falls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tagish Lake (meteorite)</span> Stony meteorite

The Tagish Lake meteorite fell at 16:43 UTC on 18 January 2000 in the Tagish Lake area in northwestern British Columbia, Canada.

Kaidun is a meteorite that fell on 3 December 1980 on a Soviet military base near what is now Al-Khuraybah in Yemen. A fireball was observed travelling from the northwest to the southeast, and a single stone weighing about 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) was recovered from a small impact pit. It has been suggested that Kaidun originated from the Martian moon of Phobos, but this is disputed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karoonda meteorite</span> 1930 South Australian meteorite

The Karoonda meteorite is a meteorite that fell to earth on 25 November 1930 at 10:53 pm near the South Australian town of Karoonda. It is of a rare composition, being carbonaceous chondrite, and is also rare in that it was found so soon after its landing. Several fragments are now held in the South Australian Museum in Adelaide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Jenniskens</span> Dutch astronomer

Petrus Matheus Marie (Peter) Jenniskens is a Dutch-American astronomer and a senior research scientist at the Carl Sagan Center of the SETI Institute and at NASA Ames Research Center. He is an expert on meteor showers, and wrote the book Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets, published in 2006 and Atlas of Earth’s Meteor Showers, published in 2023. He is past president of Commission 22 of the International Astronomical Union (2012–2015) and was chair of the Working Group on Meteor Shower Nomenclature (2006–2012) after it was first established. Asteroid 42981 Jenniskens is named in his honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allende meteorite</span> CV3 carbonaceous chondrite meteorite

The Allende meteorite is the largest carbonaceous chondrite ever found on Earth. The fireball was witnessed at 01:05 on February 8, 1969, falling over the Mexican state of Chihuahua. After it broke up in the atmosphere, an extensive search for pieces was conducted and over 2 tonnes were recovered. The availability of large quantities of samples of the scientifically important chondrite class has enabled numerous investigations by many scientists; it is often described as "the best-studied meteorite in history." The Allende meteorite has abundant, large calcium–aluminium-rich inclusions (CAI), which are among the oldest objects formed in the Solar System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British and Irish Meteorite Society</span>

The British and Irish Meteorite Society (BIMS) is a group of over 150 meteorite researchers and amateurs. The BIMS was formed in 2004 by the meteorite collectors Mark Ford and Dave Harris. The group provides a meteorite collecting and study focus for the UK and Ireland, and is the only meteorite group in the UK and one of only three in the entire world. Members have made many major scientific discoveries, including the finding of a rare 17.6 kilograms (39 lb) pallasite meteorite, in Hambleton, Yorkshire, in 2005. Several members assisted in the search for the Winchcombe meteorite in 2021. Through its website, the society maintains two forums, one for the general public and one for its members. Additionally, the society has a Facebook group. The forums and group act as a central point for the exchange of meteorite related information in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pultusk (meteorite)</span> Chondrite meteorite

Pultusk is an H5 ordinary chondrite meteorite which fell on 30 January 1868 in Poland. The event has been known as the stony meteorite shower with the largest number of pieces yet recorded in history. Made up of rocky debris, it consists of pyroxene or olivine chondrules deployed in mass plagioclase, there being also kamacite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buzzard Coulee meteorite</span> November 20, 2008 Canadian meteorites

Buzzard Coulee is the collective name of the meteorites fallen on November 20, 2008 over Saskatchewan, Canada.

CI chondrites, also called C1 chondrites or Ivuna-type carbonaceous chondrites, are a group of rare carbonaceous chondrite, a type of stony meteorite. They are named after the Ivuna meteorite, the type specimen. CI chondrites have been recovered in France, Canada, India, and Tanzania. Their overall chemical composition closely resembles the elemental composition of the Sun, more so than any other type of meteorite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuschwanstein (meteorite)</span> Meteorite that fell to Earth on 6 April 2002

Neuschwanstein was an enstatite chondrite meteorite that fell to Earth on 6 April 2002 at 22:20:18 GMT near Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, at the Germany–Austria border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sutter's Mill meteorite</span> Meteorite that fell to Earth on 22 April 2012

The Sutter's Mill meteorite is a carbonaceous chondrite which entered the Earth's atmosphere and broke up at about 07:51 Pacific Time on April 22, 2012, with fragments landing in the United States. The name comes from Sutter's Mill, a California Gold Rush site, near which some pieces were recovered. Meteor astronomer Peter Jenniskens assigned Sutter's Mill (SM) numbers to each meteorite, with the documented find location preserving information about where a given meteorite was located in the impacting meteoroid. As of May 2014, 79 fragments had been publicly documented with a find location. The largest (SM53) weighs 205 grams (7.2 oz), and the second largest (SM50) weighs 42 grams (1.5 oz).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Novato meteorite</span>

The Novato meteorite is an ordinary chondrite which entered the Earth's atmosphere and broke up over Northern California at 19:44 Pacific Time on 17 October 2012. The falling bolide created a bright fireball and sonic booms and fragmented into smaller pieces as the intense friction of passing through the atmosphere heated it and absorbed its kinetic energy. The meteoroid was about 35 centimeters (14 in) across.

This is a glossary of terms used in meteoritics, the science of meteorites.

Jodzie is a meteorite that fell on 17 June 1877 near the village of Juodžiai near Panevėžys. It is a relatively rare howardite with some carbonaceous inclusions that were likely a result of an asteroid collision. Therefore, despite its small size, it has been a subject of several scientific studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Braunschweig meteorite</span> Meteorite that hit Germany in 2013

The Braunschweig meteorite is a 1.3 kilograms meteorite that hit Melverode, a suburb in Braunschweig, Germany, at around 2:05 AM on 23 April 2013. It hit the concrete pavement in front of the home of Erhard Seemann, breaking into hundreds of fragments on impact, the largest of which is 214 grams. The meteorite created a small impact crater in the concrete, with a diameter of 7 cm (2.8 in) and a depth of 3 cm (1.2 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alais meteorite</span> Meteorite found in France

Alais or Allais is the first carbonaceous chondrite meteorite identified. It fell near Alès in 1806 in multiple fragments which together weighed 6 kg, although only 0.26 kg (9.2 oz) remains. The meteorite contains a number of elements in similar proportions to the Solar System in its primordial state. It also contains organic compounds and water. It has proved to be one of the most important meteorites discovered in France.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Meteoritical Bulletin: Entry for Winchcombe". Meteoritical Society . Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  2. Port, Samuel (9 March 2021). "Tracking down the Winchcombe Meteorite that landed on driveway" . Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Meteorites from sky fireball 'may have fallen near Cheltenham'". The Guardian. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 "A team of UK scientists, guided by meteor specialists, have recovered pieces of an extremely rare meteorite, a type which has never fallen anywhere in the UK before". www.nhm.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  5. "Meteorite found in the Cotswolds is the first in the UK for 30 years" . Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  6. "Winchcombe meteorite to go on public display". BBC News. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  7. "Last night's record-breaking fireball over Gloucestershire may have dropped a meteorite" (Press release). UK Fireball Alliance. 1 March 2021.
  8. "Meteor captured on doorbell cameras in England". BBC News. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  9. "Rare meteorite chunk traced by scientists to Gloucestershire driveway". The Guardian. 9 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  10. "Winchcombe meteorite driveway to go on display". BBC News. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  11. "Meteorite". Winchcombe Museum. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  12. Gater, Will. "Meteorite recovered in the UK after spectacular fireball in the sky". New Scientist. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  13. "Weather in March 2021 in Gloucester, England, United Kingdom".
  14. Dr Luke Daly of UK Fireball Alliance: talk to the Royal Geographical Society, 11 March 2021.
  15. Ashley J King; Luke Daly; James Rowe; et al. (18 November 2022). "The Winchcombe meteorite, a unique and pristine witness from the outer solar system". Science Advances . 8 (46): eabq3925. Bibcode:2022SciA....8Q3925K. doi:10.1126/SCIADV.ABQ3925. ISSN   2375-2548. PMC   9668287 . PMID   36383648. Wikidata   Q115921572.