Rocks From Space Picture of the Day Sunday, October 28, 2007
A 261g individual of the Erg Chech meteorite (provisory). Approx. 100kg of a recent fall in northern Mali have been reported. The new material may be connected to a fireball sighting in September/October 2006 at the Ageria-Mali border several weeks previous to the Bassikounou event. Eyewitnesses reported a single bolide exploding over the city of Adrar in Algeria and descending in numerous glowing fragments towards Mali territory. The following day Mali soldiers commited a search for the remains of what was thought to be a missile launched from Algeria but returned without success. 15 days later Sommane Oueld El Mokhtar a nomad taking care of his camels in the Erg Chech claimed to have found rocks that recently rained from the sky. It yet has to be confirmed whether the cited event can be connected to the new material or whether the Erg Chech meteorites belong to a different fall. Meanwhile a sample of the meteorite that appears to be of chondritic nature is scheduled for analysis and classification. NMR scalecube is 1cm each side.
© Dr. Svend Buhl (www.niger-meteorite-recon.de)
Author & editor: Michael Johnson (spacerocksinc.com)
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