Russia, Siberia, Sikhote-Alin Mountains, Maritime Province, fall date and time: February 12, 1947, 10:38 am local time. In 1947, an iron meteorite fell upon the Sikhote-Alin Mountains in southeastern Russia appearing like a fireball during daylight - even brighter than the sun, according to witnesses. Never before had a fall of such magnitude and impact been recorded! The meteorite fell at a speed of 14.5 kilometers per second (8.7 miles per second or 31,000 miles per hour). It left a dramatic trail of smoke and dust that was reportedly 20 miles long; light and sound effects were observed for 200 miles around the point of impact! Size: 3.5" L x 3.5" W x 2.25" H (8.9 cm x 8.9 cm x 5.7 cm); Weight: 927 grams

The scale of the thumbprinting on these meteorites correlates directly to the size of the mass; hence, these meteorites resemble colossal iron meteorites but on a smaller scale. Sikhote-Alin meteorites are among the coarsest octahedrites. The thumb prints (regmaglypts) are ablation cavities on the surface of the specimen. The surfaces are melted with blow back and a ridge of metal that resulted from the metal that melted and moved backwards onto the rest of the meteorite.

Provenance: private Orange County, California, USA collection

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#127604

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