Treysa (meteorite)
The Treysa meteorite , also called the Rommershausen meteorite , is a meteorite that was found in a forest near what is now the Schwalmstadt district of Rommershausen in northern Hesse . It is named after the larger Schwalmstadt district of Treysa . The meteorite went down in German astronomical history as one of the most important verifiably observed meteorite impacts in modern times. It is classified as a middle octahedrite of chemical group IIIB and shows the Widmanstätten structures .
In addition to iron and nickel , it contained phosphorus , cobalt , gallium , germanium and iridium and egg-shaped troilite inclusions. It was formed in the early phase of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago and probably broke up 650 million years ago as a result of a collision in the asteroid belt .
Find history
On April 3, 1916 at 3:30 p.m. eyewitnesses reported a clap of thunder and clouds of smoke. The lights and sounds came from a meteorite falling from space onto the earth, which hit a forest near Rommershausen.
According to eyewitness reports, Alfred Wegener calculated the path of the meteorite and its likely point of impact. The scientific importance was recognized and 300 Reichsmarks were awarded for the finder. And in fact the meteorite was later discovered near (8 km away) the calculated location: In the summer of 1916, the forester Hupmann found the one and a half meter deep impact crater with the 63.28 kg heavy and 36 cm wide iron meteorite in a forest near Rommershausen . This was only slightly fragmented and almost completely preserved. On the basis of the reward offered, he reported the find in March 1917, which came to the University of Marburg, where Franz Richarz and Emanuel Kayser had initiated the search. 23 plates and sections of the meteorite were made and examined by geological and mineralogical research institutes.
A memorial stone set up by the Knüllgebirgsverein at the site of the impact has been a reminder of the cosmic event since 1986 .
The find is exhibited in the Mineralogical Museum in Marburg . A copy is in the Schwalm Museum in Ziegenhain . Signposts to the meteorite site are set up on the way (ring road) in the Rommershausen forest.
literature
- 750 years of Rommershausen, village chronicle .
- Alfred Wegener : The detonating meteor of April 3, 1916, 3 1/2 in the afternoon in Kurhessen. 1917. and: Franz Richarz: Discovery, description and preliminary physical investigation of the Treysa meteorite. 1918. (Reprint: Elwert, Marburg 2001, ISBN 3-7708-1160-7 )
Web links
- Treysa. Meteoritical Bulletin, accessed June 7, 2020 .
- Article of the Association for Hessian History and Regional Studies eV Kassel
- uni-marburg.de: Meteorite from Treysa
- Photo of the Treysa meteor in the Mineralogical Museum Marburg
- n-tv: 600 million years on the road - meteorite hit Hessen 100 years ago.
- Peter Masberg: HNA: Chunks from space - the Treysa meteorite crashed to earth 100 years ago.
- Radiofeature ( SWR ) (audio stream) 4:11 minutes from April 3, 1916, accessed on April 12, 2018
Coordinates: 50 ° 56 ′ 41.35 " N , 9 ° 9 ′ 41.15" E