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The 60-tonne, 2.7 m-long (8.9 ft) Hoba meteorite in Namibia is the largest known intact meteorite.[1]A meteorite is a rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or moon.
The upper limit to the "total known mass" of a meteorite is therefore the mass of the meteorite fall. Several factors can cause the "total known mass" of a meteorite to be less than the mass of the fall. Meteorite falls frequently occur as showers of stones (see main article), produced when the parent meteoroid fragments. Only in cases where ...
The structures form due to the precipitation of a single crystal phase into two separate phases. In this way, the Widmanstätten transformation differs from other transformations, such as a martensite or ferrite transformation. The structures form at very precise angles, which may vary depending on the arrangement of the crystal lattices.
Aerodynamically shaped tektites, which are mainly part of the Australasian strewn field, are splash-form tektites (buttons) which display a secondary ring or flange. The secondary ring or flange is argued as having been produced during the high-speed re-entry and ablation of a solidified splash-form tektite into the atmosphere.
Iron meteorites, also called siderites or ferrous meteorites, are a type of meteorite that consist overwhelmingly of an iron–nickel alloy known as meteoric iron that usually consists of two mineral phases: kamacite and taenite. Most iron meteorites originate from cores of planetesimals, [3] with the exception of the IIE iron meteorite group. [4]
The Sikhote-Alin meteorite is the heaviest of these and was an observed fall, [7] while the Old Woman meteorite is, at 38 × 34 × 30 inches (970 × 860 × 760 mm) and 6,070 pounds (2,750 kg) originally, the largest meteorite found in California and the second largest found in the United States.
Example of meteorite strewnfield: distribution ellipse of Pultusk meteorite. A strewn field is the area where meteorites from a single fall are dispersed. [1] It is also often used for the area containing tektites produced by large meteorite impact. [2]
A chondrite / ˈ k ɒ n d r aɪ t / is a stony (non-metallic) meteorite that has not been modified, by either melting or differentiation of the parent body. [a] [1] They are formed when various types of dust and small grains in the early Solar System accreted to form primitive asteroids.