Members of Curtin University\u2019s Desert Fireball Network (DFN) team have successfully tracked and recovered a freshly fallen meteorite from a Western Australian farm near Morawa, several hundred kilometres north-east of Perth.<\/p>\n
![\"16_2016-10-31_120328_s_dsc_0326-thumb\"](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/16_2016-10-31_120328_S_DSC_0326.thumb_.jpg\")
The 1.15kg meteorite, which is shaped like a squished brick, fell to earth at 8.04pm on Monday, 31 October 2016 and was located and recovered within the week thanks to swift reports by members of the public to the DFN\u2019s award-winning Fireballs in the Sky citizen science app, and rapid response by the DFN team. Recovering a meteorite with minimum contamination \u2013 e.g. before rain \u2013 significantly increases its science value.<\/p>\n
DFN founder and planetary geologist Professor Phil Bland, of the Department of Applied Geology within the Curtin WA School of Mines, said a report by Stargazers Club of WA founder Carol Redford \u2013 also known as \u2018Galaxy Girl\u2019 \u2013 prompted the team to quickly check the DFN\u2019s web of outback cameras for sightings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fireball was picked up by four of our cameras \u2013 in Perenjori, Northam, Badgingarra and Hyden,\u201d Professor Bland said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerenjori provided the best information, and with the information from Northam and Badgingarra our team was able to track the fall line and calculate its landing spot to within 200m of where it was subsequently found.\u201d<\/p>\n
Professor Bland and Dr Martin Towner, also of Curtin\u2019s Department of Applied Geology, visited the site on Thursday, 3 November 2016, to obtain permission to enter farms in the area and conduct a reconnaissance.<\/p>\n
Dr Towner returned to the area with fellow team members Trent Jansen-Sturgeon, Ben Hartig and Hadrien Devillepoix on Sunday, 6 November to undertake a detailed ground search.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe left Perth early in the morning, arriving at the farms to search in the afternoon,\u201d Dr Towner said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t know it at the time, but we were in the right field, within 500m of the fall site!\u201d<\/p>\n
However, after a full day of travelling and searching, the tired team turned back, deciding to resume the search the next day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started on Monday in a different field, travelling on mountain bike and on foot but had no luck and decided to head back to the field from the day before to complete that quadrant,\u201d Dr Towner said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin half a kilometre, and before we\u2019d even had lunch, we found the rock \u2013 a pristine, unweathered, fresh sample.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Towner said there were no visible impact features on the ground. Meteorites have decelerated to a free-fall velocity by the time they hit the Earth, travelling at the same speed as a rock thrown from a tall building.<\/p>\n
![\"freshly-fallen-meteorite_desert-fireball-network\"](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Freshly-fallen-meteorite_Desert-Fireball-Network.jpg\")
The team carefully retrieved the meteorite and brought it back to Curtin for analysis. Colleagues at CSIRO have already conducted CT scanning. Preliminary analyses have so far suggested it is a chondrite meteorite.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll find out much more once we\u2019ve been able to study the 3D model in detail and done chemical analysis of thin sections of the meteorite,\u201d Professor Bland said.<\/p>\n
The find follows the DFN\u2019s celebrated recovery of a New Year\u2019s Eve fireball from Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre in South Australia, and is similar in size to that meteorite.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst New Year\u2019s Eve, now Halloween \u2013 there seems to be something about holidays that really works in our favour!\u201d Professor Bland said.<\/p>\n
Under Federal Government law, the meteorite belongs to the State, and the Trustees of the Western Australian Museum will become the custodians.<\/p>\n
For more information on the Fireballs in the Sky project, visit http:\/\/fireballsinthesky.com.au\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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