The Braunschweig meteorite is a meteorite that hit Melverode, a suburb in
Braunschweig
Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, at around 2:05 AM on 23 April 2013. It hit the concrete pavement in front of the home of Erhard Seemann, breaking into hundreds of fragments on impact, the largest of which is . The meteorite created a small impact crater in the concrete, with a diameter of and a depth of .
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Composition and classification
The meteorite has been classified as an L6 ordinary chondrite
The ordinary chondrites (sometimes called the O chondrites) are a class of stony chondritic meteorites. They are by far the most numerous group, comprising 87% of all finds. Hence, they have been dubbed "ordinary". The ordinary chondrites are th ...
.[
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Impact
The meteorite fell at around 2:05 AM on 23 April 2013, with an estimated velocity of . It hit concrete pavement from Erhard Seemann's front door, breaking into hundreds of fragments upon impact. The largest fragment, with a mass of 214 grams, stuck in the concrete, forming an impact crater
An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...
with a diameter of and a depth of . Fragments of concrete ejected from the impact were as wide as . Many other fragments of the meteorite were found within from the impact crater by several people.[
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Reports
A neighbor reported hearing a strong hum and "whoosh" followed by a loud crash at around 2:10 AM, and then found four fragments of the meteorite on his driveway. In Ahlum, from the impact site, Julian Mascow reported a bright flare approaching from the southeast for 1–2 seconds, with a luminosity "like dawn," before ending in a "short tracer just over his head." He heard a loud explosion about 90 seconds later followed by a rumbling noise. Mark Vornhusen's web camera documented the fireball from Vechta
Vechta (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Vechte'') is the capital and largest city of the Vechta (district), Vechta district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is home to the University of Vechta.
It is known for the 'Stoppelmarkt' fair, which takes place every ...
, located about from Braunschweig.[ The ]light meter
A light meter is a device used to measure the amount of light. In photography, a light meter (more correctly an exposure meter) is used to determine the proper exposure for a photograph. The meter will include either a digital or analog calcul ...
of a weather station in Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
, approximately from Braunschweig, recorded 5 seconds of brightening. The Technical University of Braunschweig
The Technische Universität Braunschweig (unofficially University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology), commonly referred to as TU Braunschweig, is the oldest ' (comparable to an institute of technology in the American system) in Germany. ...
informed expert Rainer Bartoschewitz of the reports, who inspected the site on April 27 and confirmed the meteorite.[
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References
External links
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{{Modern impact events
2013 in Germany
April 2013 events in Europe
Meteorites found in Germany
Chondrite meteorites
Meteorite falls
Events in Lower Saxony
2010s in Lower Saxony
Braunschweig
2013 in space