Machtenstein (meteorite)
| Machtenstein (meteorite) | |
|---|---|
| place | Machtenstein , Schwabhausen (Upper Bavaria) , Bavaria |
| Locality | south of Machtenstein |
| Fall time | unknown, probably before 1956; Found around 1956, rediscovered in April 2014 |
| Coordinates | 48 ° 17 '3 " N , 11 ° 18' 49" E |
| Meteorite name | Power stone |
| authenticity | for sure |
The Machtenstein meteorite was found in Germany in the 1950s and only recognized as such in 2014.
Find
During a field inspection in 1956 (or later), the meteorite was picked up by a farmer who was young at the time, because he had noticed the unusual appearance of the stone (appearance and unusually heavy weight). At home, he cut the material with an angle grinder and recognized through a spark test that the stone must contain metal. He suspected that he was looking at a meteorite, but could not gain any further information about it because of the very limited sources at the time. In 1982 he passed the stone on to a friend so that he could research it. But even he could not find anyone at that time who could confirm or disprove the meteoritic nature of the stone. He suspected a slag residue from a smelting process . Instead of throwing it away, however, he kept it for decades as a filler stone under a pile of coarse pebbles in his front yard.
Rediscovery
In spring 2014 he accidentally rediscovered the rust-brown stone in his pebble pile. On a website of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), he was able to use a catalog of criteria to test that the stone could most likely be a meteorite. He finally contacted an expert who was able to confirm the authenticity of the meteorite.
Material analysis
The 1422 gram meteorite was examined in the Mineralogical State Collection in Munich. For this purpose a total of 21.7 grams of material was separated. According to this, Machtenstein is an ordinary chondrite (type H5). Despite its long storage time outdoors, it showed only a moderate degree of weathering.
Whereabouts of the find
Machtenstein was acquired by its management on the occasion of the Mineralientage Munich 2014 and presented to the public for the first time on October 24, 2014. Through their donation to the Mineralogical State Collection in Munich , it became the property of the Free State of Bavaria. It has been on view in the RiesKraterMuseum in Nördlingen since November 2015 .
See also
literature
- The Munich Show - Mineralientage München - The theme book METEORITEN. Wachholtz, Neumünster / Hamburg / Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-529-05451-8 .
- Bavarian State Office for the Environment (Ed.): Out of this world - Bavaria's Meteorite. 1st edition. Augsburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-936385-92-2
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dieter Heinlein: The theme book METEORITEN . Ed .: The Munich Show - Mineralientage München. 1st edition. Wachholtz, Neumünster / Hamburg / Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-529-05451-8 , Machtenstein - Reading stone from the field proves to be a meteorite find, p. 95 ff .