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.26" Botohilitano Meteorite Fragment (0.18 g) - 2015 Witnessed Fall
This is a fragment from the LL5 chondrite known as Botohilitano (also Nias), which fell near the town of the same name in Indonesia on the morning of July 20, 2015. It comes in its own labeled display case.
Botohilitano, also known as Nias, is the name given to an LL5 chondrite meteorite that fell in the town of the same name on the island of Nias in Indonesia in 2015. Around 8:30 AM on July 20 that year, a woman observed an object falling from the sky into a rice farmer's field. She informed the landowner, who eventually discovered a single 5.8-kilogram stone and kept it as a token of good fortune for about a year. It was then sold in June 2021.
Botohilitano is a gorgeous example of a classic chondrite: it is fusion-crusted and packed with gray chondrules in a lighter gray matrix with varied evidence of metal staining.
Botohilitano is a gorgeous example of a classic chondrite: it is fusion-crusted and packed with gray chondrules in a lighter gray matrix with varied evidence of metal staining.
About Chondrites
A chondrite is a stony (non-metallic) meteorite that has not been modified by either melting or differentiation of the parent body. Chondrites are formed when various types of dust and small grains in the early Solar System accreted to form primitive asteroids. Some such bodies are captured in the planet’s gravity well and pulled to the surface. They are by far the most common type of meteorite, representing about 86 percent of all meteorites that have fallen to Earth.
Prominent among the components present in chondrites are the enigmatic chondrules, millimeter-sized spherical objects that originated as freely floating, molten or partially molten droplets in space; most chondrules are rich in the silicate minerals olivine and pyroxene. Chondrites also contain particles of various metals such as nickel, iron, and aluminum. These formed at the very beginning of the solar system and aggregated over time: they are the oldest rocks known on Earth!
Chondrites are divided into about fifteen distinct groups on the basis of their mineralogy, bulk chemical composition, and oxygen isotope compositions. The various chondrite groups likely originated on separate asteroids or groups of related asteroids. Each chondrite group has a distinctive mixture of chondrules, refractory inclusions, matrix (dust), characteristic chondrule sizes, and other components. Other ways of classifying chondrites include weathering and shock. The L chondrite group is the most common of these.
A chondrite is a stony (non-metallic) meteorite that has not been modified by either melting or differentiation of the parent body. Chondrites are formed when various types of dust and small grains in the early Solar System accreted to form primitive asteroids. Some such bodies are captured in the planet’s gravity well and pulled to the surface. They are by far the most common type of meteorite, representing about 86 percent of all meteorites that have fallen to Earth.
Prominent among the components present in chondrites are the enigmatic chondrules, millimeter-sized spherical objects that originated as freely floating, molten or partially molten droplets in space; most chondrules are rich in the silicate minerals olivine and pyroxene. Chondrites also contain particles of various metals such as nickel, iron, and aluminum. These formed at the very beginning of the solar system and aggregated over time: they are the oldest rocks known on Earth!
Chondrites are divided into about fifteen distinct groups on the basis of their mineralogy, bulk chemical composition, and oxygen isotope compositions. The various chondrite groups likely originated on separate asteroids or groups of related asteroids. Each chondrite group has a distinctive mixture of chondrules, refractory inclusions, matrix (dust), characteristic chondrule sizes, and other components. Other ways of classifying chondrites include weathering and shock. The L chondrite group is the most common of these.
TYPE
Ordinary Chondrite (LL5)
LOCATION
Botohilitano, Nias, North Sumatra, Indonesia
SIZE
.26" wide, Weight: 0.18 grams
CATEGORY
ITEM
#285848
