[Faline]

The Willamette Meteorite, officially named Willamette, is an iron-nickel meteorite discovered in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the largest meteorite found in the United States and the sixth largest in the world. No impact crater was preserved at the discovery site; it is possible that the meteorite landed in what is now Canada and was transported to the Willamette Valley during the Missoula Floods in ice as a glacial erratic. It is currently on display at the American Museum of Natural History. The Willamette Meteorite weighs about 32,000 pounds or 15.5 tons. It is classified as a type III iron meteorite, being composed of over 91% iron and 7.62% nickel, with traces of cobalt and phosphorus. The approximate dimensions of the meteorite are 10 feet (3.05 m) tall by 6.5 feet (1.98 m) wide by 4.25 feet (1.3 m) deep. The distinctive pitting on the surface of the meteorite is believed to have resulted from both its high-speed atmospheric entry and subsequent weathering. In the case of weathering, rainwater interacted with the mineral troilite, resulting in a form of sulfuric acid which slowly dissolved portions of the meteorite.

Other noteable meteorites-

1* Allende, largest known carbonaceous chondrite (Chihuahua, Mexico, 1969). Fell on 8th February 1969.

2*Allan Hills 81005 - First meteorite determined to be of lunar origin. It was found in 1984, the fall wasn't observed. Named after Allan Hills, Antarctica.

3*Canyon Diablo - Iron meteorite used by prehistoric Native Americans. Found 49000 years ago.

4*Cape York - One of the largest meteorites in the world. A 34 ton fragment called "Ahnighito", is exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History; the largest meteorite on exhibit in any museum. fell 10,000 years ago.

5*Fukang meteorite -- The largest main mass Pallasite. It furthermore has larger than average Olivine crystals and was offered for auction at close to $ 3 million at Bonhams in April 2008. Found 2000 years ago.

6*Hoba - The largest known meteorite. fell 80.000 years ago and was discovered in 1920.

7*Murchison - A carbonaceous chondrite found to contain nucleobases - the building block of life. Fell 28th September 1969.

8*Sikhote-Alin - Massive iron meteorite impact event that occurred on February 12, 1947.

9*

[Jere]

very good post!awesome pics

[Nve]

Great post Kelly...Interesting stuff

[güttsfükk]

cool post, the picture for #4's a bit rubbish tho

[Faline]

Managed find a better one..wanted to get all the fragments in of the cape york one though instead of few pics of all the fragments.

[güttsfükk]

are all three of those pieces part of the meteorite?

[Faline]

Yes gutts all 3 are. The 3 iron masses were known to Inuit as;

Ahnighito (the Tent)- weighing 31 metric tons

The Woman- weighing 3 metric tons

The Dog- weighing 400 kg.

The pieces were sold for $40,000 to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City where they are still on display.

[güttsfükk]

cool, you know your stuff
you should make a post with the top 10 largest meteorites

[Faline]

Good idea..these are the most popular. 2 of them are in the largest list. Pink got me started on about meteors yesterday

[lawlshane]

Check out the Chicxulub crater. It's theorized that this is the crater left by the asteroid that may have killed off the dinosaurs.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronom...lo_001122.html