Winchcombe meteorite: ‘A kind of splatter on our driveway

bbc ^ | Jonathan Amos

[BenLurkin]

The meteorite has had British scientists in raptures of joy.

It's a carbonaceous chondrite - a dark stony material that retains unaltered chemistry from the formation of our Solar System 4.6 billion years ago, and, as such, could give us fresh insights on how the planets came into being.

The first thing the Wilcock family knew about it was when they heard a dull thud outside their house on the night of Sunday 28 February.

Scientists knew fragments of a meteorite must be in the Gloucestershire area. Their cameras had recorded the rock coming through the atmosphere that Sunday night, creating a huge fireball in the process.

Imagery from multiple angles allowed researchers to narrow the drop zone, and when they went on the media to make an appeal on the Monday, they hoped one or two people might come forward with an interesting find.

The family have donated the meteorite remains to the national collection held by the Natural History Museum in London. They were determined the rock should not go to a dealer, but to science.

The last meteorite fall to be picked up in the UK was 30 years ago. That was an "ordinary chondrite" - a common type of space rock.

The Winchcombe meteorite is far more valuable. Studying its chemistry - and what it can tell us about the conditions that went into building the planets - will keep scientists busy for years.

[sit-rep]

actually it does kinda look like pixie dust from The Matrix of Leadership!