Russian Fall Iron Meteorite

Description

The Sikhote-Alin meteorite fall, during the winter of 1947, was the largest recorded meteorite impact on earth in modern times. The daytime fireball and subsequent crater-forming event were witnessed by rural farmers in a remote part of eastern Siberia, near the Sikhote-Alin mountains — the range which gives this highly collectible meteorite its name. The Russian Academy of Sciences investigated the fall zone during a series of expeditions in the late 1940s, and approximately 100 separate meteorite craters were identified in a densely wooded area. This meteorite specimen acquired its unique surface characteristics during flight through our own atmosphere. It is known as a shrapnel specimen — a fragment which exploded during flight, due to atmospheric pressure or collision with another meteorite.