As of: January 28, 2024, 10:12 a.m
By: Lennart Schwenck
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Spectacular find in Brandenburg: Collectors discover suspected meteorite remains in a field.
It's not the first time in the region.
Nauen – A team of collectors from Poland have most likely found fragments of the recently burned-up mini-asteroid marked “2024BX1” near Nauen in Havelland.
This was visible in the night sky near Berlin on Sunday night (January 21st).
Due to its spectacular fireball, the falling celestial body was seen by many night sky hawkers.
Photomontage: An asteroid in the night sky.
© Imago Images
The curator of the meteorite collection at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Dr.
Ansgar Greshake, emphasized the uniqueness of the find to the
dpa
: “It is very, very, very likely that it is a meteorite, i.e. the first find of this remnant of the asteroid that burned up here.” It is one of the rare ones Group of Aubrites, and the material is considered extremely rare.
The special thing: The find appeared to be fresh and showed a shiny, black crust.
Asteroid, comet, meteor, meteoroid and meteorite: these are the differences
Asteroid:
• A rocky or metallic body that moves in space between planets.
• Larger than a meteoroid but smaller than a planet.
• Mostly in an asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Meteoroid:
• A small particle or rock in space that is smaller than an asteroid.
• May come from an asteroid or comet.
• When it enters the Earth's atmosphere, it is called a meteor.
Meteor:
• A meteoroid that has entered the Earth's atmosphere and lights up and burns up due to friction.
• Also known as a “shooting star.”
• A meteoroid that reaches Earth but does not reach the surface.
• When pieces of rock reach the earth's surface, they are called meteorites.
Comet:
• A celestial body made of dust, gas ice, and rock that develops a bright coma (nebulous shell) and tail as it approaches the Sun.
• The tail always points away from the sun.
• Differs from asteroids by the appearance of coma and tail.
(Source: The European Space Agency)
A four-person team from Poland set out to search in the so-called scattered field, which was calculated by researchers after the asteroid burned up around Ribbeck in Havelland - with success.
“We assume that this was a stroke of luck and is one of the largest pieces lying in the strewn field,” said geoscientist Lutz Hecht from the Museum of Natural History when asked by the
dpa
.
This accidental discovery is of invaluable research value, as the entire process from the impact to the discovery situation was well documented.
The suspected piece of the meteorite was found by a team in a field near Ribbeck.
© Cevin Dettlaff/dpa
Asteroids in Northern Germany: Fragments were found as early as 2023
The researchers at the Museum für Naturkunde, in collaboration with the Free University of Berlin and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), have found additional stones themselves.
These two fragments, both about the size of a walnut, will be examined in the museum's laboratories in the coming days to determine their composition and origin.
The Polish collectors intend to sell their finds, which can be quite lucrative given the rarity and uniqueness of such a find.
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This is not the first time that fragments of small asteroids have been found.
At the end of April 2023, a fireball lit up over Elmshorn in Schleswig-Holstein, and shortly afterwards chunks of the meteorite were found, weighing a few hundred grams to several kilograms.
Researchers recently discovered where the Elmshorn meteorite came from.
(
dpa/ls
)