Park Forest is an L5

chondrite A chondrite is a stony (non-metallic) meteorite that has not been modified by either melting or planetary differentiation, differentiation of the parent body. They are formed when various types of dust and small grains in the early Solar Syste ...

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

that fell on 26 March 2003 in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States.

History

Around midnight on March 26, 2003, a bright orange fireball was spotted in the sky which was visible across

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Soon after, reports of falling debris were recorded near the village of Park Forest, Illinois. At least two houses in Park Forest were struck, as well as the fire station. In the following days, this event was officially named the ''Park Forest'' meteorite, as numerous stones or fragments were recovered in the area. The total mass recovered is above and the single largest stone is about . Steven Simon (University of Chicago) and seven colleagues from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, the Planetary Studies Foundation,

Harper College William Rainey Harper College is a Public college, public community college in Palatine, Illinois. It was established by referendum in 1965 and opened in September 1967. It is named for William Rainey Harper, a pioneer in the junior college m ...

, Pacific Northwest National Lab, and the

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...

have classified the meteorite fragments that fell on

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's southern suburbs on the night of March 26, 2003. That area is described as "the most densely populated region to be hit by a meteorite shower in modern times". The meteoroid is estimated as weighing at least 900 kilograms, and as much as 7000 kilograms upon entering the atmosphere.

Composition and classification

From page A207 o
Meteoritics & Planetary Science 38, Nr 7, Supplement, A189–A248
(2003)

''Most stones are partly to fully fusion-crusted. Some broken faces show brecciated texture, angular clasts. Cross-cutting dark veins and dark pockets may be of impact melt origin. No visible chondrules in hand sample. Abundant troilite and metal visible in some broken faces. Chondrules and maskelynite are visible in thin section. Mean olivine composition Fa24.7, mean low-Ca pyroxene Fs20.7Wo1.6. Shock stage S5. Specimens: type specimen 515 g (hit fire station), FMNH. Other stones at FMNH: 1200 g, 529 g, 183 g, 159 g, 125 g.''

Specimens

At least twelve samples of this meteorite are conserved within th
Robert A. Pritzker Center for Meteoritics and Polar Studies
ref> at the

. While these specimens are not currently on display, they are available for research purposes through the museum. It is claimed that a large piece which fell through the kitchen ceiling of one Park Forest couple is periodically displayed at the Adler Planetarium.

Notes

External links

Meteoritical Bulletin Database
{{Meteorites by name Meteorites found in the United States Geology of Illinois 2003 in the United States 2003 in science 2003 in Illinois

History

Composition and classification

Specimens

See also

Notes

External links