The Yardymly meteorite (also known as Aroos meteorite, or ''Ərus meteoriti'') is an

iron meteorite Iron meteorites, also called siderites or ferrous meteorites, are a type of meteorite that consist overwhelmingly of an iron–nickel alloy known as meteoric iron that usually consists of two mineral phases: kamacite and taenite. Most iron me ...

that fell in

Yardymli Rayon Yardimli District () is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the south-east of the country and is part of the Lankaran-Astara Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Jalilabad, Masally, Lerik, and the Ardabil ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

on November 24, 1959. The remains were discovered in the nearby village of Aroos. With five individual specimens, the total weight of the meteorite is estimated at .Permanent Commission of Meteorites of the International Geological Congress
/ref> The meteorite is kept in the Institute of Geology of

Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) (, located in Baku, is the main state research organization and the primary body that conducts research and coordinates activities in the fields of science and social sciences in Azerbaijan. It was ...

. According to the director of Şamaxı Astrophysical Observatory Eyub Guliyev, the Yardymli meteorite may originate from the shower of

Perseids The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift–Tuttle that are usually visible from mid-July to late-August. The meteoroid, meteors are called the Perseids because they appear from the general direction of the const ...

. The eyewitnesses saw the bright

bolide A bolide is normally taken to mean an exceptionally bright meteor, but the term is subject to more than one definition, according to context. It may refer to any large Impact crater, crater-forming body, or to one that explodes in the atmosphere. ...

flying through clouds from southwest to northeast. The falling was accompanied by a bright, blinding flare brighter than solar illumination and a noise similar to rolling thunder. The illumination embraced the area of ca. .''Soviet Azerbaijan Encyclopedia'' (Baku, 1981), vol. 5, p. 80 The fall of individual pieces was accompanied by a whistling and drone, resembling that produced by a jet aircraft or missile. The examination of chemical and physical properties of the meteorite was led by Azeri researcher

Mirali Qashqai Mirali Seyidali oglu Qashqai (; January 20, 1907 – April 23, 1977) was an eminent Azerbaijani and Soviet geologist, author of multitude works in the sphere of geomorphology and stratigraphy.''Azerbaijan Soviet Encyclopedia'' (Baku, 1979), vo ...

. The meteorite features a sizeable

Widmanstätten pattern Widmanstätten patterns (), also known as Thomson structures, are figures of long Phase (matter), phases of nickel–iron, found in the octahedrite shapes of iron meteorite crystals and some pallasites. Iron meteorites are very often formed ...

Ярдымлинский метеорит

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

and an anomalously low amount of

tritium Tritium () or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a half-life of ~12.33 years. The tritium nucleus (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of the ...

. Similar tritium anomalies were detected previously in other iron meteorites.Argon-37, Argon-39, and Tritium in Meteorites...
Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Department of Energy At the request of American scientists, the Soviet Meteorite Committee sent the meteorite samples to California University, Cambridge Astrophysical Observatory and the Institute for Nuclear Researches of

Chicago University 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 ...

, as well as to

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...

. One of the samples was preserved in

Fersman Mineralogical Museum Fersman Mineralogical Museum () is one of the largest mineral museums of the world, located in Moscow, Russia. Its collections include more than 135,000 items. Among them natural crystals, geodes, druses and other kinds of mineral treasures. Th ...

Individual pieces

In order of discovery: *1st *2nd *3rd *4th *5th

Notes

{{Soviet Union–United States relations, state=collapsed Meteorites found in Azerbaijan Iron meteorites Yardimli District 1959 in the Soviet Union Soviet Union–United States relations

Individual pieces

See also

Notes