DutchNews, June 26, 2017
Photo: Naturalis |
A rock
that crashed through the roof of a shed has been confirmed as only the sixth
meteorite to be recovered in the Netherlands.
The 4.5 billion-year-old lump of
stone, which weighs around 500g, landed in the village of Broek in Waterland,
Noord-Holland province, in January.
The owners discovered it the next morning
and contacted Naturalis museum in Leiden after looking up meteorites on the
internet. Two experts confirmed that it was a L6 chrondite type, which dates
from the birth of the solar system.
It is believed to be the same meteorite
recorded by a Belgian motorist who filmed it blazing through the sky on January
11.
Geologist Leo Kriegsman told NOS: ‘It’s from the area between Mars and
Jupiter, which is an area full of space junk and small planets where lots of
meteorites come from.’
The museum currently has the meteorite on loan from the owners and is hoping to acquire it permanently. It is thought it could fetch around €1,000 on the open market.
Scientists estimate that a meteorite lands somewhere in the Netherlands every two to three years on average, but most are never found.
The museum currently has the meteorite on loan from the owners and is hoping to acquire it permanently. It is thought it could fetch around €1,000 on the open market.
Scientists estimate that a meteorite lands somewhere in the Netherlands every two to three years on average, but most are never found.
Dutch scientists celebrate discovery of only the sixth meteorite found in The Netherlands in recent history https://t.co/sPtTQtAriN pic.twitter.com/VVbIfeDEkE— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 26, 2017
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