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Winchcombe meteorite

Coordinates: 51°57′04″N 1°58′32″W / 51.9512°N 1.9755°W / 51.9512; -1.9755
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Winchcombe
Fragment of the Winchcombe meteorite in the Natural History Museum, London
TypeChondrite[1]
ClassCarbonaceous chondrite[1]
GroupCM2[1]
CountryEngland
RegionGloucestershire
Coordinates51°57′04″N 1°58′32″W / 51.9512°N 1.9755°W / 51.9512; -1.9755[2]
Observed fallYes
Fall date28 Feb 2021 GMT (UTC)
Found date28 Feb – 1 Mar 2021 GMT (UTC)
TKW602 grams (21.2 oz)
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.

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

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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

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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

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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]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "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. ^ a b "Meteorites from sky fireball 'may have fallen near Cheltenham'". The Guardian. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "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.
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