Pultusk (meteorite)
The Pułtusk meteorites are a large number of stone meteorites of the iron-rich H- chondrite type that hit the surface of the earth on January 30, 1868 in central Poland , at Pułtusk 60 km northeast of Warsaw. It was the meteorite fall with the largest known number of fragments. The stray field of the pieces estimated at almost 70,000 had an area of about 20 km × 7 km.
The original meteoroid had a mass of just under 9 tons in the atmosphere before the decay, of which about 250 kg were found. The largest piece weighs 9.1 kg, but the majority of the smaller pieces only about 1 g. The material consists of pyroxene - and olivine - Chondrules , encased by plagioclase , and has a Brecciated -like or banded structure.
About 50 fragments of 1–10 cm in size are in various museums in Europe and the USA, of which the Meteoritical Bulletin Database (link below) shows photos. Most of them are dark, some with rust-red iron oxide gleaming out.
In 2008, on the 140th anniversary of the meteor fall, a coin was issued that shows the falling stones in front of the city's silhouette.
Well observed trajectory
While shooting stars and most of the fireballs only begin to burn up at altitudes of around 100 km, some observers noticed this large meteoroid at around 300 km - but initially like a normal falling star. Only at an altitude of about 180 km did a strong increase in light and blue-green color appear. In the lower section of the track, the brightness increased again strongly and the color turned red.
A precise observation comes from Johann Gottfried Galle , the director of the Breslau observatory . He reports of a sudden shower of sparks that turned into a kind of Bengali fire . After a while, there was a minute-long rattle and thunder like cannons. People rushed out of their houses, fearing the chaos of war or a conflagration. Some spoke of a rain of stones and began to look for meteorites. Most of them fell into the Narew .
Chemical composition
All of the rock examined has the following composition ( percent by weight ): SiO 2 36.44%, MgO 23.75%, Fe 16.02%, FeO 9.48%, FeS 5.97%, CaO 1.82%, Al 2 O 3 1.88%, Ni 1.61%, Na 2 O 0.83%. In addition, small proportions of Cr 2 O 3 , MnO, TiO 2 , P 2 O 5 and K 2 O. The total iron content is 17.62 percent by weight (according to Diakonov & Kharitonova 1961).