Cranbourne meteorite

Cranbourne
A fragment of the Cranbourne meteorite called "Pearcedale".
Group	IAB Main group (MG)[1]
Country	Australia
Region	Victoria
Coordinates	38°6′S 145°18′E / 38.100°S 145.300°E / -38.100; 145.300Coordinates: 38°6′S 145°18′E / 38.100°S 145.300°E / -38.100; 145.300
Observed fall	No
Fall date	Unknown
Found date	1854
TKW	8,600 kilograms (19,000 lb)[1]
Strewn field	Yes

Cranbourne meteorite is an octahedrite iron meteorite. It is the second largest meteorite found in Australia after the Mundrabilla meteorite, but at the time of discovery it was the largest iron meteorite in the world. It is classified as a main group IAB meteorite.^[1][2]

Discovery

It is not clear when the first fragments of the meteorite were found. They were first recognized as meteoric in origin at an exhibition in Melbourne in 1854. A piece of fragment "Cranbourne 001" that had been made into a horse shoe was on display there. When investigations were made two masses, Cranbourne 001 and 002 were found buried at their original impact site that had been mistaken as an outcrop of an telluric iron deposit.^[2]

Cranbourne 003 was found in 1860. It had been found by a farmhand around 1857 and used as a hotplate. It was later lost in shipping for scientific investigation.^[2]

The meteorite may have fallen as recently as 200 years ago.^[2]

Fragments

Replicas of some of the fragments can be seen in "Meteorite park" in Cranbourne 38°05′51″S 145°16′57″E / 38.097433°S 145.282513°E / -38.097433; 145.282513.

The following table lists all the fragments of the Cranbourne meteorite:

References

See also

• Glossary of meteoritics