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Lot
41173

ONE OF THE LARGEST METEORITES FROM THE "WEST, TEXAS" FIREBALL OF SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15TH. ...

2009 May Signature Natural History Auction #6016

 
Sold for: Not Sold Not Sold
Auction Ended On: May 17, 2009
Item Activity: 0 Internet/mail/phone bidders Number of Bidders
6,489 page views
Location:

Heritage Auctions - Design District Annex
1518 Slocum Street
Dallas, TX

Description:
ONE OF THE LARGEST METEORITES FROM THE "WEST, TEXAS" FIREBALL OF SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15TH
L6
West, Texas

The basic facts are now well known. On Sunday morning, February 15th, a fireball streaking over a clear Texan sky was seen by countless witnesses from Austin to Dallas. While filming the Austin Marathon, a "News 8 Austin" cameraman happened to capture the meteorite's descent. Dozens of the world's foremost meteorite hunters happened to be in Tucson at the time and did a descent of their own on the town of West - approximately 15 miles north of Waco.

What is less well known is that this is the first meteorite shower to be captured on Doppler radar. The Doppler images provided meteorite hunters with the best clue where to look. Yet despite the efforts of dozens of professional and amateur hunters working tirelessly for weeks, just nine kilos of meteorites were ever recovered - an amount that barely fills an adult shoebox. The current offering is the fourth largest complete meteorite from this event known to exist.

Covered with hallmark black fusion crust (the result of being toasted by frictional heating while plunging through the atmosphere), this pristine meteorite has never been touched by human hands. It was first picked-up in a plastic bag, and gloves were used when fitting the meteorite during the fabrication of the custom armature that accompanies this offering. As a result of other broken specimens associated with this event, we know the meteorite's internal matrix is an ivory-cream hue with a sprinkling of metalflake and a scroll of filigree-like impact melt throughout (see lot #). Accompanied by a front-page newspaper article on this event and images of this meteorite's recovery. The Texan meteorite shower of 2009 is destined to be historic, and this is among its finest meteorites. 63 x 52 x 29 mm (2.5 x 2 x 1 inches) and 209.9 grams (½ pound).

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