Out of This World Jilin Meteorite Museum

by Wang Fang

Along the winding Songhua River， Jilin is a spectacular city in northeastern Chinas province of the same name. Along with its natural beauty highlighted by the river and mountains， the city is also a world-class tourism destination due to an unexpected meteorite shower in 1976. Located on the southern bank of the Songhua River near Jilin Bridge， Jilin Meteorite Museum is Chinas first museum featuring the extraterrestrial rocks. Its most famous exhibit， Jilin No. 1， the largest intact meteorite on earth， accompanies many other meteorite specimens from around the world.

Largest Intact Meteorite in the World

On March 8， 1976， a heavy stream of meteorites began showering the northern suburbs of Jilin at about 3：00 p.m. With an ear-splitting roar， one massive meteorite dissolved into numerous pieces of various sizes when it was still 19 kilometers high in the air. Fortunately， no damage or injuries occurred within its landing area of about 500 square kilometers. Its 138 surviving specimens and more than 3，000 fragments weighing a total of 2，616 kilograms make the Jilin meteorite shower the planets largest such occurrence. Of all the meteorites， Jilin No. 1， a massive rock weighing 1，770 kilograms， is believed to be the largest single fragment of meteorite ever found on Earth.

According to records， a crater measuring two meters in diameter and three meters deep was left by the meteorites impact， which broke the frozen soil layer as deep as 6.5 meters. Equivalent to a 1.7 magnitude earthquake， the impact was so powerful that a mushroom cloud appeared and sprayed dirt up to 150 meters away. Further scientific analysis revealed that the original meteorite was a 4.6 billionyear-old asteroid originating from the belt between Jupiter and Mars.

Along with Jilin No. 1， two other large meteorites were named Jilin No. 2 and Jilin No.3 respectively. Visitors to Jilin Meteorite Museum are allowed to touch and feel 126-kilogram Jilin No. 2.

Chinas Largest Iron Meteorite

In 1898， an oddly shaped rock was discovered in the desert of the Junggar Basin in western China by Kazak herdsmen.

Years later， the huge shimmering black object was identified as a special alloy left by a meteorite in prehistoric times. Composed of 89 percent iron， 9 percent nickel and smaller amounts of copper and chromium， it is known as the iron meteorite. Six other cosmic minerals featuring high melting points were also introduced to Earth by the iron meteorite.

At 2.58 meters long， 1.89 meters wide and 1.76 meters high， the 30-ton irregular triangular object is the third heaviest iron meteorite in the world. Although the majority is displayed in the Xinjiang Geological and Mineral Museum， visitors to Jilin Meteorite Museum can see a slice of the giant.

Fragments of Allende

On February 8， 1969， a fireball split the sky over northern Mexico， near the village of Pueblito de Allende in the state of Chihuahua. Leaving several craters within a landing area of about 50 square kilometers from hundreds of meteorites weighing more than 100 kilograms， the Allende meteorite， named after its landing place， is considered the largest carbonaceous chon-drite ever found on Earth.

The Allende is regarded as “the moststudied meteorite in history” due to its value for the study of the early solar system. Recently， American researchers discovered that it contains one of the oldest minerals in the Solar System. Fragments of Allende can be seen in Jilin Meteorite Museum.

Henbury Craters

In 1889， 12 craters created by a 2，000-ton meteorite that broke up before impact were discovered by a ranch manager in Henbury， northern Australia.

However， no investigation was launched until another meteorite hit southern Australia in 1930. After that， several tons of iron-nickel fragments were recovered from the Henbury site， which is now considered one of the worlds best preserved small crater fields.

Visitors to Jilin Meteorite Museum can also examine fragments from the Henbury craters.