The Braunschweig meteorite is a meteorite that hit Melverode, a suburb in
Braunschweig
Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, at around 2:05 AM on 23 April 2013. It hit the concrete pavement in front of the home of Erhard Seemann, breaking into hundreds of fragments on impact, the largest of which is . The meteorite created a small impact crater in the concrete, with a diameter of and a depth of .
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Composition and classification
The meteorite has been classified as an L6 ordinary chondrite
The ordinary chondrites (sometimes called the O chondrites) are a class of stony chondritic meteorites. They are by far the most numerous group, comprising 87% of all finds. Hence, they have been dubbed "ordinary". The ordinary chondrites are t ...
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Impact
The meteorite fell at around 2:05 AM on 23 April 2013, with an estimated velocity of . It hit concrete pavement from Erhard Seemann's front door, breaking into hundreds of fragments upon impact. The largest fragment, with a mass of 214 grams, stuck in the concrete, forming an impact crater
An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...
with a diameter of and a depth of . Fragments of concrete ejected from the impact were as wide as . Many other fragments of the meteorite were found within from the impact crater by several people.[
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Reports
A neighbor reported hearing a strong hum and "whoosh" followed by a loud crash at around 2:10 AM, and then found four fragments of the meteorite on his driveway. In Ahlum, from the impact site, Julian Mascow reported a bright flare approaching from the southeast for 1–2 seconds, with a luminosity "like dawn," before ending in a "short tracer just over his head." He heard a loud explosion about 90 seconds later followed by a rumbling noise. Mark Vornhusen's web camera documented the fireball from Vechta
Vechta (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Vechte'') is the capital and largest city of the Vechta (district), Vechta district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is home to the University of Vechta.
It is known for the 'Stoppelmarkt' fair, which takes place every ...
, located about from Braunschweig.[ The ]light meter
A light meter (or illuminometer) is a device used to measure the amount of light. In photography, an exposure meter is a light meter coupled to either a Digital data, digital or analog calculator which displays the correct shutter speed and f-nu ...
of a weather station in Brandenburg
Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
, approximately from Braunschweig, recorded 5 seconds of brightening. The Technical University of Braunschweig
TU Braunschweig (, unofficially ''University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology'') is the oldest ' (comparable to an institute of technology in the American system) in Germany. It was founded in 1745 as Collegium Carolinum and is a membe ...
informed expert Rainer Bartoschewitz of the reports, who inspected the site on April 27 and confirmed the meteorite.[
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References
External links
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{{Modern impact events
2013 in Germany
April 2013 in Europe
Meteorites found in Germany
Chondrite meteorites
Meteorite falls
Events in Lower Saxony
2010s in Lower Saxony
Braunschweig
2013 in outer space
April 2013 in Germany