Discovery of the Sikhote-Alin meteorite

The Sikhote-Alin meteorite was an iron meteorite that fell in the Sikhote-Alin mountains of the Russian Far East, in the morning, after a bright fireball that was seen from distances of hundreds of kilometres and left a smoke trail in the sky. The object broke up in the atmosphere, and fragments struck the ground in a forest, forming more than a hundred impact craters, the largest of which is about twenty-six metres across. Soviet scientists organised expeditions to search the area and recovered many tons of material. It is one of the largest meteorite falls ever observed, and its fragments, many of which show distinctive shapes due to the intense heat, are well represented in museums and collections.

Open on the timeline