Meteorite Collection

Meteorolites and meteorites
An engraving of meteorites by J. Sowerby, 1812. Illustration comes from the Sowerby Collection

The Nakhla meteorite fell as a shower of stones in Egypt in 1911. SNCs (Sherogtty, Nakhla and Chassigny) are a group of stony meteorites thought to come from Mars

Slice of Canyon Diablo meteorite
Iron meteorites, when sliced open and etched with acid, typically show a distinctive criss-cross pattern called a Widmanstatten pattern. This slice is 15cm across

Masjid Al Haram, Mecca
Traditionally inaugurated by Abraham, the Masjid al-Haram at Mecca, for Moslems the holiest place on Earth, houses the Ka aba containing a black meteorite venerated by Islam. Date: BCE - present

Hoba West meteorite
Team of scientists with the Hoba meteorite which fell in Namibia. Photograph taken by W. T Gordon in 1920

Early Precambrian Earth
An impression of the Earths surface during the early Precambrian period (4, 500 to 543 million years ago), by Barry Evans

Meteor fireball engraving
Contemporary engraving by Harry Robinson of a meteor seen near Newark-upon-Trent on 18 August 1783. A single fireball that quickly broke up into many small ones was seen

The Murchison CM2 carbonaceous chondrite
Murchison fell in September 1969, in Victoria, Australia. It is rich in indigenous (i.e. not terrestrial contaminant) amino acids and other organic molecules

Wold meteorite
Watercolour of the Wold meteorite, Yorkshire by Hariet Topham, 1797. Image from Sowerby Collection

Meteorite in Antarctica
A large meteorite found in the MacAlpine Hills, Antarctica in 1988

Iron meteorite
This meteorite is the product of atmospheric melting, as are stony achondrites. Specimen held at the Natural History Museum, London

Section of Chassigny meteorite
Thin section of Chassigny in cross-polarized light, showing shocked and deformed olivine grains. The field of view is 3mm

Microscope image of the Pasamonte eucrite
Microscopic image of the Pasamonte eucrite showing a basaltic texture. Field of view is 2.5mm across

METEORITE /
A meteor shower seen from a balloon over Northern France by Wilfred de Fonvielle Date: November 1867

The Black Stone - The Kaaba, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
The Black Stone at the Kaaba, Mecca, Saudi Arabia - revered by Muslims as an Islamic relic, which according to Muslim tradition dates back to the time of Adam and Eve

Lunar meteorite
Da La Gani 400, a lunar meteorite found in the Sahara Desert

Meteorite Hits House
A farmhouse at La Chaux (Saone-et- Loire, France) is struck by a meteorite (fireball) and is instantly set on fire

Space Memorabilia - lunar meteorite
Space Memorabilia - stunning NWA 11303 Lunar Meteorite weighing eight grams and measuring 37mm. Moon rocks are incredibly rare, making up only 1 per cent of meteorite falls

Meteorite fall at Ensisheim, Germany (now France)
Depiction of a Donnerstein (thunderstone), a 250 pound meteorite which fell into a field near the town of Ensisheim, Germany (now in north east France, near the border with Germany)

Bolide meteorite with a serpentine shape
Bolide forming a serpentine shape due to the influence of gravitational forces on the fragments forming the tail Date: 1954

Shargottite Sayh al Uhaymir 008 meteorite
Shargottite Sayh al Uhaymir 008, found in Oman in 1999. The specimen is about 10cm long. SNCs (Sherogtty, Nakhla and Chassigny) are a group of stony meteorites thought to come from Mars

Archean Landscape
An artists impression of an Archean landscape (3, 800 to 2, 500 million years ago), with the thin crust scarred by meteorite craters and dotted with pools of molten rock

The Stannern achondrite
A piece of the Stannern achondrite which is thought to have originated on the asteroid Vesta

Nickel-Iron meteorite
This cross-section through a nickel-iron meteorite shows the metallic lattice structure

Hand tools made by the Inuit of Greenland
These tools were made from the Cape York meteorites and were brought back to Great Britain by the explorer John Ross

The Allende carbonaceous chondrite
Photograph of the Allende carbonaceous chondrite, partly covered in jet-black fusion crust. This contains numerous white inclusions called CAIs. This stone is about 10cm across

Meteorite discovered at Bacubirito, Mexico
A meteorite discovered at Bacubirito, Mexico, in 1871. Its estimated weight is 22 tonnes, and it is made of iron. Date: 1871

Meteorite India 1857
Quenngouch, India : (spelling uncertain) spectacular meteorite explodes over the town in fine weather. Date: 26-27 December 1857

Meteorite strike in India
Spectacular meteorite which exploded over the town of Queennggouch in India in fine weather Date: 26-27 December 1857

Bolide meteorite observed by Padre Secchi
Bolide observed by padre Secchi, Italian astronomer, who stated that the body was brighter than Venus and the two tails changed colour in the course of combustion. Date: 14 November 1868

Bolide meteorite with lance-like antenna
Bolide with lance-like antenna which exploded like a sunburst, the largest fragment ontinuing on its original trajectory Date: 11 November 1869

Quadruple bolide meteorites
Quadruple bolide recorded by the astronomer Tacchini at the Rome observatory Date: 27 July 1874

Meteorite burning up in the atmosphere
A meteorite burns up as it enters Earths atmosphere, exploding in a shower of glowing debris Date: 1954

Launton Meteorite
The Launton meteorite fell on 15 February 1830 at approximately 7.30pm, Launton village in Oxfordshire. The meteorite is of the most common type of stony meteorite, known as an ordinary chondrite

Wold Cottage meteorite (detail)
The earliest surviving meteorite seen to land in the UK fell in Wold Cottage, Yorkshire, in 1795. It prompted the first serious investigation into the origin of meteorites

Wold Cottage meteorite
The earliest surviving meteorite seen to land in the UK fell in Wold Cottage, Yorkshire, in 1795. It prompted the first serious investigation into the origin of meteorites

Meteorite 1891
Observed at Oschansk, Russia. Date: 1891

The Esquel pallasite

Pallasite slab
The Esquel pallasite, composed of gem-quality olivine crystals embedded in metal. Pallasites are perhaps the most beautiful of all meteorites. Specimen held at the Natural History Museum, London

Estherville Meterorite
Meteorite section BM 53764, Estherville, 2.727kg from the Natural History Museums Mineralogy Department

Wold meteorite landing site
Pen and ink sketch showing an obelisk marking the landing site of the Wold Meteorite, Yorkshire, 1812. Image from the Sowerby Collection by Gerrit van Spaendonck

Estherville Meteorite
Meteorite section BM 53764, Estherville, 2.727kg from the Natural History Museums Mineralogy Department

The Estherville mesosiderite formed after a catastrophic collision between two asteroids. Mesosiderites are an irregular jumble of metal grains and angular pieces of rock

Variety of tektites

The Stannern achondrite see 35502
A piece of the Stannern achondrite which is thought to have originated on the asteroid Vesta

The Canyon Diablo meteorite
The cut, polished and etched surface of the Canyon Diablo meteorite reveals its high iron content

The Beardsley H5 ordinary chondrite
Beardsley fell in Kansas, U.S.A in 1929. Its fine-grained texture, with poor chondrule resolution indicate that it has experienced thermal metamorphism

The Abee EH4 enstatite chondrite
Abee fell in Canada in 1953. The cut surface clearly shows the metal-rich and brecciated texture of Abee

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