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A recent meteorite event in South Africa has caught the attention of scientists who have confirmed it as a rare achondrite. This discovery was made by researchers from Wits, Rhodes, and Nelson Mandela Universities. Initially, there were concerns that the fireball seen over St Francis Bay might have been a satellite, but the evidence now points to a meteorite.
The meteorite, which broke apart upon entering Earth’s atmosphere, was first mistaken for a satellite. However, fragments found in Kirkwood have led scientists to classify it as an achondrite. Achondrites are rare, making up only about 10% of the approximately 75,000 meteorites discovered on Earth.
The five fragments recovered have been tentatively identified as howardite eucrite diogenite (HED) meteorites. These are a type of achondrite believed to come from the asteroid 4 Vesta, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft confirmed in 2013 that HED meteorites originate from Vesta.
Deon van Niekerk from Rhodes University’s electron microscopy unit commented, “We can make a preliminary conclusion that these are fragments of a howardite eucrite diogenite meteorite.”
The meteorite, estimated to be 1-1.5 meters in diameter, entered Earth’s atmosphere around 8:50 am SAST on a recent Sunday morning, traveling at an impressive 72,000 km/h (20 km/s). As it descended, friction with the atmosphere caused it to glow and partially melt. The resulting shockwaves or sonic booms were only heard after the meteorite exploded at an altitude of 38 kilometers.
The research team is now working to gain permission from landowners to further investigate the meteorite’s trajectory and search for additional fragments. They will analyze thin sections of the rock under an optical microscope to determine its mineral composition. A scanning electron microscope will then be used to explore the chemical composition of these minerals, which will help in future classification.