Large Bruderheim Meteorite--Complete Individual

Large Bruderheim Meteorite--Complete Individual L6 Chondrite Witnessed Fall, March 4, 1960 Bruderheim, Alberta, Canada On March 4th, 1960 at 1:06 a.m., a bright fireball tore through Earth's atmosphere above Central Alberta. The space rock travelled at 42 kilometers per second, its flash witnessed by hundreds of people as far away as the Rocky Mountain region of British Columbia. The giant rock detonated, creating a sound shock wave audible over 5,000 square kilometers. The sonic boom rattled windows, shook the foundations of homes, and startled families from their sleep. Shards of the stone rained down just north of Bruderheim, some forming pits as deep as 30 centimeters, many rebounding off the frozen ground and landing on the snow. Based on eye-witness reports, it is believed that the meteorite was first observed by Alexis Simon, an Assiniboine resident of the Paul's Band Indian Reserve at Duffield, Alberta. He noted the north-easterly direction of the rock, its swift speed, and that it looked like it was giving off 'flashes of fire'. He also described a rushing sound that resembled a high wind and lasted about 5 seconds after the fireball passed. Once news broke that a meteorite had fallen, people came from all around to search by air and land for the dark stones on the snow. The first meteorite fragment was found by a local farmer, Nick Broda, in his barnyard. Other local farmers found the fragments in their barnyards and fields, the largest weighing 66 pounds. Two locals, Stan Walker and Ty Balacko, were instrumental in mapping the strewn field and for recovering fragments. In the days that followed, the two men recovered a total of 155 pounds of meteorite. Nearly 700 meteorite fragments were found with a total weight of over 660 pounds—making it the largest recovered fall in Canadian history. Most pieces found were eventually acquired by the University of Alberta, some of which were later traded and distributed to museums and research facilities around the world. The Bruderheim Meteorite is the largest recovered meteorite fall in Canadian history. It occurred at the onset of the 'space age'—only three years prior, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world's first artificial Earth satellite that triggered the 'space race' between the Soviet Union and the United States. The Sputnik launch led directly to the creation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and spawned pioneering efforts to launch other artificial satellites, unmanned probes of the Moon, Venus, and Mars, and human spaceflight in low Earth orbit and to the Moon. As preparations began to accomplish these feats, the Bruderheim Meteorite provided scientists with valuable insight. The collection of Bruderheim meteorites and trades in the decades that followed are responsible for most of the growth of the University of Alberta Meteorite Collection into the largest University-based meteorite collection in Canada. The collection still contains over 145 kg of Bruderheim meteorites. The present specimen is a large one weighing in at nearly 1.8 kilos. The fusion crust is complete and intact and shows evidence of thumbrints . This is a fine example of what may be one of the world's most extensively studied chondritic meteorites. Weighing approximately 1762 grams and measuring 6 x 3 1/4 x 3 in For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing