Russia, Siberia, Sikhote-Alin Mountains, Maritime Province, fall date and time: February 12, 1947, 10:38 am local time. In 1947, an iron meteorite fell upon the Sikhote-Alin Mountains in southeastern Russia during daylight appearing like a fireball - even brighter than the sun, according to witnesses. Never before had a fall of such magnitude and impact been recorded! The meteorite fell at a speed of 14.5 kilometers per second (8.7 miles per second or 31,000 miles per hour). It left a dramatic trail of smoke and dust that was reportedly 20 miles long; light and sound effects were observed for 200 miles around the point of impact. Size: 2.75" L x 4.75" W x 2.75" H (7 cm x 12.1 cm x 7 cm)

The scale of the thumbprinting on these meteorites correlates directly to the size of the mass; hence, these meteorites resemble colossal iron meteorites on a smaller scale. Sikhote-Alin meteorites are among the coarsest octahedrites. The thumb prints (regmaglypts) are ablation cavities on the surface of the specimen. The surfaces are melted with blow back and a ridge of metal that resulted from the metal that melted and moved backwards onto the rest of the meteorite.

This piece has been testd using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and has been found to contain approximately 93% iron and 7% nickel with the composition varying across the surface, some areas with 85% iron and as much as 15% nickel, some with 97% iron and 3% nickel. These variations corresponding directly to the intensity of the "silvery" appearance.

Provenance: private Orange County, California, USA collection

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