Description
The Campo del Cielo meteorite struck between 2200 and 2700 BC on the border of the Gran Chaco and Santiago del Estero provinces in Argentina. The site consists of 26 craters covering an area of 60 km². The largest impact crater has a diameter of about 70 meters and is approximately 5 meters deep. Locals once believed the iron fragments originated from the sun. The name Campo del Cielo ("Field of Heaven") is derived from this. In 1576, the meteorite was (re)discovered by the Spanish. The presented pieces were recently found at a depth of about ten centimeters in moisture-free soil, so rust has not yet taken hold of these iron meteorites.
A meteorite is the part of a meteoroid that impacts Earth after falling through the atmosphere from space. During its journey through the atmosphere, the material slows down significantly and becomes very hot; this can be seen as a meteor. Essentially, a meteorite is debris from space. The composition of meteorites can sometimes determine their origin. For example, more than twenty have been found that originated on the moon. This involves material knocked off the moon by another meteorite. Meteorites such as ALH84001 have also been found, originating from Mars. In many cases, however, the meteorite originates from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Whether meteorites of cometary origin also exist is still under debate. It is possible that some rare, very fragile types of carbonaceous meteorites originate from short-period comets. Much of the debris that comes into contact with the atmosphere does not reach Earth but burns up due to atmospheric drag. The fragments that burn up are visible at night as meteors, also called star showers or shooting stars. Larger pieces that don't burn up completely but fall partially to Earth as meteorites form a bolide (fireball) as they pass through the atmosphere. The impressive phenomenon can be demonstrated, for example, by the Sikhote-Alin bolide. It was clearly visible in broad daylight. The fireball caused by the Dutch Glanerbrug meteorite from April 1990 was visible just before sunset.
