The Hoba meteorite is the largest in the world. About space and the universe and our life

Plowing one of his fields and thinking about the reasons for the crop failure, farmer Jacobus Hermanus Brits suddenly felt the plow hit an invisible barrier.

“Only this was not enough!” Jacobus swore tiredly and began to dig a patch of savannah under a stalled plow. The shovel soon slammed against the hard cobblestone. The farmer tried to find its borders and whistled in surprise: a monolithic slab extended for an indefinite distance. It was in Namibia - in a farm called Hoba West Farm, near the town of Grotfrontein. The year was 1920 outside.

The unlucky farmer did not even suspect that at that moment his name went down in history forever, because that is how the largest meteorite on earth, called Goba, was discovered - after the name of the farm where it was found. Goba is a kind of parallelepiped - 2.7x2.7 meters long and wide and 0.9 meters deep.

The weight of the gigantic "pebble" today is no less than 60 tons, and this is minus those 6 tons that have been irretrievably lost since the discovery of the stone - as a result of erosion, taking samples for research and pulling the meteorite for souvenirs. And the initial mass of the block at the time of its fall to the ground (and this happened 80,000 years ago), according to scientists, was at least 90 tons. Due to the colossal dimensions, Goba was decided not to be transported to another place, as a result, the oldest meteorite still rests where it was found.

The composition of the “cobblestone” struck worldly pundits no less than its mass: it turned out that the meteorite was almost entirely iron: 84% is iron, and the rest is nickel with a small addition of cobalt. So Goba is a record holder in two categories at once: it is both the largest meteorite of all known to mankind, and the heaviest solid piece of iron of natural origin.

Goba has more than enough riddles. Firstly, the unusual shape of the meteorite is surprising: space "aliens" in the form of an almost exemplary parallelepiped are infrequent guests on our planet. Secondly, the surface texture, which is rare for such objects, is quite smooth and almost flat. And, finally, another white spot that haunts scientists: how could it happen that a block of such a shape and size reached the surface of the earth without breaking from air resistance into hundreds of smaller fragments while flying through the earth's atmosphere?

How did it happen that a heavy meteorite did not leave not only a powerful crater, but even light impact marks upon landing? Some researchers believe that a small angle of incidence, coupled with a tailwind, softened the landing of the slab, leaving both the stone intact and the area of the "cosmodrome" undisturbed, others tend to think that all traces of the landing were ruthlessly erased by time - it's no joke, 80,000 years have passed .

Yes, and it's not that important. The main thing is that the rare alien no longer loses rapidly in weight - the government has provided decent protection for the meteorite. Now, thousands of travelers arriving at the territory of the former Hoba West Farm can admire the giant iron monolith and even touch it with their hands, but breaking off a piece from the space plate as a keepsake is no-no: there are many tourists, but the Goba meteorite is one.

"Space gifts" fall to the ground quite often. They come in different sizes, but mostly they are small fragments in which it is not at all easy to recognize an unearthly origin. Astronomers even managed to calculate that almost 100,000 tons of meteorite substances fall on Earth during the year. However, space giants are occasionally found among them. One of these is Goba - the largest meteorite found.

Why are meteorites rarely found?

Many people have a question: “Why are meteorites so rare?” Indeed, 100 thousand tons every year is a rather big figure, but usually meteorite fragments weigh several kilograms, and sometimes even grams. Not everyone can understand that under his feet is not just a stone, but a space alien. The small size of meteorites is due to the fact that when entering the Earth's atmosphere, the cosmic body heats up and lights up. The ablation process begins, as a result of which the mass of the object is significantly reduced. Most of the celestial projectiles do not reach the earth's surface at all. By the way, ablation is when particles of matter are carried away from the surface of solid bodies by a stream of hot gas or by radiation.

How was the largest meteorite on the planet discovered?

Evidence of how the largest Goba meteorite fell to Earth is no longer found. The fact is that this happened back in prehistoric times, when primitive man did not know writing. But a huge "heavenly stone" was found in the most banal way. While plowing his savannah, an African farmer from Namibia caught something very large with a plow. Having cleared the site, the farmer realized that it was simply impossible to budge this monster. The strange body attracted the attention of scientists, who confirmed its extraterrestrial origin. They gave the find the same name as the farm where it was discovered - Hoba West Farm. This event took place in 1920.

The farmer who made the unique find was named Jacobs Brits. He came to Namibia from Britain. The unique find gave him the opportunity to enrich himself by selling the meteorite in parts for souvenirs or for other purposes. But he considered such actions wrong and refused tempting offers. The farmer donated his find to the government of Namibia, not immediately, of course, but he did.

Weight and dimensions of the largest meteorite

Scientists have not been able to weigh the meteorite. They made calculations and found that when discovered, the meteorite weighed about 66 tons. In addition, a theory was put forward that at the time of its fall to Earth, about 80 thousand years ago, the weight of this body was within 90 tons. But today you can see the 60-ton Goba meteorite, as erosion, cutting off parts for research and vandalism by tourists have significantly reduced its weight.

The size of the Goba meteorite today is 2.7x2.7x0.9 m. Its volume is 9 m³.

The composition of the meteorite

From numerous studies, scientists managed to get an idea of the composition of the "alien". It is officially announced that the Goba meteorite (Namibia, 1920) consists of 84% iron, 15% nickel with cobalt impurities. About 1% is accounted for by impurities of other elements. The top layer consists of iron hydroxide. The crystal structure is defined as nickel-containing ataxite.

Thus, the Goba meteorite is classified as iron. For reference, we add that, according to the classification, meteorites are divided into 3 types, based on their composition:

Meteorites from mineral materials are called stone.
Metal meteorites are called siderites or iron meteorites.
"Aliens" from mixed materials are called iron-stone.

Classification helps to group specimens by common origin. Meteoritic matter can be part of a planet, asteroid or satellite, any object in the solar system that exists at the moment or existed in the past. But this classification is not final yet, it can and will expand.

Mysteries of Goba: where is the crater?

A huge meteorite threw scientists a number of mysteries. One of them is the absence of a crater. For some reason, the space visitor landed so softly that he was able to maintain his shape and not shatter into a pile of fragments. There was no catastrophe during the fall, and there was no crater left. Although a small crater could appear and then collapse over time. It is possible that the fall occurred at a very small angle.

Another mystery is the unique shape

The Goba meteorite has a very unusual shape. A huge block looks like an almost regular parallelepiped. Fragments of objects of the solar system of this form hit the Earth extremely rarely, and they were much smaller than the giant Goba.

Scientists are surprised not only by the shape, but also by the outer texture of the surface of the meteorite. The alien is smooth, and its surface is almost flat. Initially, the color of the cosmic body was blue-black, but the Earth's atmosphere contains carbon dioxide, and the native iron that makes up the meteorite turned red.

Invasion of tourists

As soon as it became known where the Goba meteorite was located, tourists began to pilgrimage to the fields of Jacobs Brits. They trampled down crops and chipped off pieces as a keepsake. It became difficult to live and work on the farm, and the farmer began to ask the government to put up guards. Several decades passed before the Namibian government decided to listen to the requests of the farmer. The Goba meteorite was declared a national monument only in 1955. True, tourists ignored the government's ban and continued to chip off souvenirs.

The emergence of a tourist center

The final transfer of the land of the Goba West farm and the meteorite itself occurred in 1988. 3 years prior to this event, Rossing Uranium Ltd. put a guard around the meteorite from their own funds. And the destruction of the alien managed to be stopped. After the transfer of land, a tourist center was organized around. Its territory is fenced, and an entrance fee is taken. The money goes to the improvement of the center. So it costs money to approach a meteorite and take a picture against its background.

The center itself is like a botanical garden. Various trees have been planted here, and information boards have been placed. From all sides, clean paths converge to the center, and in the middle there is a three-tiered open amphitheater and steps leading to the “hero of the occasion”. Equipping the tourist center, the authorities understood that people would go there only for the sake of the Goba meteorite, so they were not very zealous, ennobling the surrounding panorama. Some information plates contain not so much important information as humor. One of them is written in several languages: "Beware of falling meteorites."

In fact, there might not have been a tourist center around the meteorite. The fact is that in 1954 the Natural History Museum of New York wanted to buy this stone of cosmic origin. A huge amount of money was allocated for this, but the museum workers faced an impossible task: to lift and transport a unique object over a long distance. They could not find a solution to this problem, so the museum abandoned the idea of purchasing it.

Double record holder

The Goba meteorite can be considered a double record holder. First, as mentioned earlier, this is the largest celestial object found on Earth. In fact, this one is the largest native piece of iron on the planet. Secondly, he was never moved from his place. For about 80 thousand years, the messenger of heaven lies exactly where he once fell.

According to astronomers, about 100,000 tons of meteoritic matter falls to Earth every year. Since the meteor body entering the atmosphere begins to heat up and glow, gradually losing its mass due to ablation, we observe most of the “projectiles” from space only in the sky. Finding a fragment of a meteorite is a rarity. Only a knowledgeable specialist can recognize a celestial body of extraterrestrial origin in a randomly found "lump".

Often only a few kilograms or even grams of matter reach the surface, but sometimes practically “space bombs” weighing several tens of tons fall on Earth. In the entire history of astronomy, 7 meteorites were found on the planet, which seriously excited the whole world.

Willamette

Where: USA

Weight: 15.5 tons

The size of this meteorite is comparable to the dimensions of a small car. It is believed that he fell to Earth about 1 billion years ago. For many years, he just rusted in the middle of the forests of western Oregon, until the Indians discovered him. In 1902, the find of the Indians was in the hands of the miner Ellis Hughes, then he became the property of the Oregon Steel Company, and in 1905 Mrs. William E. Dodge bought the meteorite for 26 thousand dollars. Today, the Willamette meteorite is exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Photo 2.

Mbozi

Where: Africa

Weight: 16 tons

The meteorite reaches 3 meters in length and 1 meter in width. The meteorite was first discovered in 1930 by Johannesburg topographer W. G. Knott. Found it in the southern part of Tanzania. A hole was dug around the meteorite, and the find itself was installed on a pedestal. Now anyone can examine the space object in all its details and take a series of pictures with it.

Photo 3.

Agpalik

Where: Greenland

Weight: 20 tons

Agpalik is just a fragment of the Cape York meteorite that fell to Earth about 10,000 years ago. A meteorite was found in 1963 in Agpalilika. The find is currently on permanent display at the Geological Museum of the University of Copenhagen.

bakubirito

Where: Mexico

Weight: 22 tons

This "iron monster" was discovered by geologist Gilbert Ellis Bailey in 1892. Like most meteorites, it was named after the place where it was found. The meteorite is exhibited at the Centro de Ciencias de Sinaloa Science Center, located in the city of Culiacan.

Photo 4.

Anigito

Where: Greenland

Weight: 31 tons

This is the largest part of the Cape York meteorite, the second largest meteorite preserved on the surface of the Earth. The dimensions of the fragment are 3.4 x 2.1 x 1.7 m. The Eskimos were the discoverers of the meteorite. In 1818, the Scottish navigator John Ross, who was looking for the Northern Sea Route, learned about the meteorite from them. The meteorite is currently on display in the Arthur Ross Room of the American Museum of Natural History.

Photo 5.

El Chaco

Where: Argentina

Weight: 37 tons

Several millennia ago, a meteor shower fell near the town of Gancedo, as evidenced by numerous craters and finds of iron fragments weighing from several kilograms to many tons. Presumably the Campo del Cielo meteorite fell to Earth 4000-6000 years ago. El Chaco is the largest fragment of the Campo del Cielo iron meteorite. Found it with a metal detector in 1969 at a depth of 5 meters.

Photo 6.

Goba

Where: Africa

Weight: 60 tons

The largest meteorite ever found on Earth lies in Namibia, near the Goba West farm. According to scientists, it fell about 80 thousand years ago. It was discovered in 1920 near Grotfontein. The meteorite is 84% iron, 16% nickel with a small admixture of cobalt. A tourist center has been opened near the location of the meteorite.

And more about the GOBA meteorite

Very large meteorites do not fall to Earth very often, and to see the largest of them, you need not rush to the museum, but visit the farmer's field, which is located in southwestern Africa, in Namibia, not far from the town of Grotfrontein. There you can see the famous iron Goba meteorite, whose dimensions are one by three and three meters, the volume is nine cubic meters, and the mass is sixty tons. He rests on the very spot where he fell a very long time ago - eighty thousand years ago. This meteorite, due to its enormous weight, cannot be moved from its place.

The composition of this “alien” is eighty percent iron, sixteen percent nickel, one percent cobalt, and other elements also account for one percent. The giant was under a layer of earth for a long time, until in 1920 a local farmer Jacob Brits accidentally hooked it with a plow while plowing his part of the savannah. The find got its name from the name of this farm - "Hoba West Farm". And, although during the fall of the Goba meteorite, according to calculations made by scientists, it weighed sixty-six tons, it lost almost six tons in weight. The traces of saw cuts testify to the great interest of researchers in this stone, who study this heavenly guest in the most detailed way, and numerous tourists also had a hand in it, seeking to take a piece of the meteorite with them as a unique souvenir. Centuries-old erosion also worked on it.

Besides that Goba meteorite is one of the largest known meteorites that have ever fallen on our planet, it is considered the largest piece of iron of natural origin, which gives the right to once again be convinced of its extraterrestrial origin, since iron in this form does not occur on Earth in nature.

In addition to its size and unique composition, this celestial wanderer asked scientists a riddle about his fall, because he did not leave a crater or other ground traces of a cosmic catastrophe. Some scientists believe that the fall could have occurred at a very small angle, and therefore the landing was soft, the meteorite landed unharmed. However, many believe that this happened so long ago that the traces could simply be smoothed out by natural geological processes, that is, time has worked thoroughly.

Science, however, does not burden the head too much with such nuances, since over 80 thousand years (that's how long our "space alien" is), all traces could well be erased by natural geoprocesses.

Probably, if the meteorite weighed less, it would have been thrown aside and no one would have known about it, but it is not so easy to move a block weighing 66 tons. Thus, the heavenly stone came into the focus of attention of the relevant scientific circles, and with it the public at large. The increased interest did not bring anything good to poor Gobe - in just 30 years, tourists, farmers and scientific circles cut down 6 tons from the surface of the meteorite for souvenirs and samples for experiments. In 1955, the government of the then South West Africa decided to stop the disgrace and announced that from now on Goba is not a “simple stone”, but a national monument, although there was not too much sense from such an announcement, not to say any at all. In 1985, the private firm Rossing Uranium Ltd. she allocated some money from her own pocket to strengthen the security of an object of national importance, and three years later the owner of both the meteorite and the land under it and the Hoba West farm, imbued with the same national ideas, transferred Goba and everything nearby to the state. The state made a fuss, ennobled the panorama, carried out landscaping, reined in tourists and thus nullified the encroachment on tons of precious iron ore. So now Goba lies calmly to himself, showing the audience four of his six sides. By the way, no one has moved him from his place in history, he is exactly at the place of his fall. And yet - this is the world's largest piece of iron of natural origin, so Goba is a double record holder.

A little arithmetic:

Weight today - 60 tons (original 66 tons), volume today - 9m3, dimensions - 2.7 × 2.7 × 0.9 meters, composition - 84% iron, 16% - nickel with an admixture of cobalt.

An interesting fact: if the meteorite was smaller and did not weigh sixty-six tons, then the farmer who found it simply threw the stone that interfered with it to the side, but it was not easy to move such a block, which is why it interested the relevant scientific circles and the public. Over time, a unique stone could be sold for souvenirs, but in 1955 the Namibian government decisively stopped such a taking away of a wonderful find and proclaimed Goba meteorite national monument. True, this did not produce the desired effect, and the chipping off of pieces “for memory” continued.

In 1985, the private company Rossing Uranium Ltd. at their own expense, they hired enhanced security to preserve the national treasure. Three years later, the owner of the Hoba West Farm, and with it the land and the meteorite itself, imbued with a national idea, transferred all this property to the state. The state, in turn, ennobled it, carried out landscaping, fenced off and thus turned this place into a busy tourist center. Those who wish, for a fee, can approach the alien from space, touch it and take a picture, climbing this double record holder - the world's largest meteorite and a block of iron.

Let's also read a selection of the most "sensational" meteorites in the history of mankind.

1. Goba: the largest meteorite found (Namibia).

The largest meteorite found weighs more than 60 tons, and its diameter is about 3 meters. He fell into the territory of modern Namibia, presumably 80 thousand years ago. The celestial body was discovered relatively recently - in 1920, the owner of the Hoba West Farm, located in the southwest of the country, stumbled upon a huge piece of iron while plowing one of his fields. In honor of the farm, the find was named. Composed of 84% iron, the meteorite is considered the largest nugget of this metal found on Earth. In order to prevent vandalism, in 1955 it was declared a national monument, because since the discovery, the mass of Gob has decreased by 6 tons. In 1987, the owner of the farm donated the meteorite and the land on which it is located to the state, and now the government of Namibia monitors its safety.

2. Allende: the most studied among meteorites (Mexico).

The unsuspecting residents of the city of Chihuahua woke up around one in the morning on February 8, 1969. They were awakened by noise and a bright flash resulting from the fall of a 5-ton meteorite. A lot of fragments scattered over tens of kilometers, the total weight of which is estimated at 2-3 tons. The collected pieces "scattered" around the institutes and museums of the world. Scientists say that Allende (Spanish: Allende) is the largest and most studied of the recorded carbonaceous meteorites. The report of American astrophysicists from the Livermore National Laboratory of the US Department of Energy states that the age of calcium-aluminum inclusions, which are rich in meteorite, is approximately 4.6 billion years, that is, more than the age of any of the planets in the solar system.

3. Murchison meteorite: the most "alive" meteorite found on Earth (Australia).

Named after the Australian city near which it fell in 1969, the Murchison meteorite is believed to be the most "alive" meteorite found on Earth. This is due to more than 14 thousand organic compounds that make up the 108-kilogram carbonaceous stone, including at least 70 different amino acids. Research led by Philipp Schmitt-Koplin of the Institute for Environmental Chemistry in Germany claims that the meteorite contains millions of different kinds of organic molecules, which proves the existence of amino acids outside of our planet. According to scientists, the age of the meteorite is 4.65 billion years, that is, it was formed before the appearance of the Sun, whose age is estimated at 4.57 billion years.

4. Sikhote-Alin meteorite: one of the largest meteorite observed during the fall (Russia).

One of the largest meteorites in the world fell in Primorsky Krai in the Sikhote-Alin mountains in February 1947. The dazzling fireball he caused was observed in Khabarovsk and other settlements within a radius of 400 km. An iron body weighing 23 tons disintegrated in the atmosphere into many fragments in the form of a meteor shower. The fragments formed on the surface of the Earth more than 30 craters from 7 to 28 m in diameter and up to 6 meters deep. The largest fragment of the Sikhote-Alin meteorite weighs about 1745 kg. The pilots of the Far Eastern Geological Administration were the first to report the place where the celestial body fell. Chemical analysis showed 94% iron in the composition of the meteorite.

5. ALH84001: the most famous Martian meteorite (Antarctica).

This name hides perhaps the most famous of the 34 Martian meteorites found on Earth. It was discovered on December 27, 1984 in the Alan Hills mountains in Antarctica (the name of the mountains is recorded in the name with a three-letter abbreviation). According to studies, the age of the alien body is from 3.9 to 4.5 billion years. A meteorite weighing 1.93 kg fell to Earth about 13 thousand years ago. There is a hypothesis according to which it broke away from the surface of Mars during the collision of the planet with a large cosmic body. In 1996, NASA scientists published sensational data suggesting the existence of traces of life on Mars. When scanning meteorite structures with a scanning electron microscope, microscopic structures were revealed that can also be interpreted as petrified traces of bacteria.

6. Tunguska meteorite: the most "powerful" meteorite (Russia)

One of the world's most famous meteorites hit the Earth in 1908, exploding at an altitude of 5 - 7 kilometers above Eastern Siberia. An explosion with a capacity of 40 megatons knocked down trees on an area of more than 2 thousand square kilometers near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River. Its blast wave circled the globe twice, leaving behind a glow in the sky for several days. In addition, a series of consequences of the cataclysm was completed by a powerful magnetic storm that lasted five hours.

7. Chelyabinsk meteorite: No. 2 after Tunguska (Russia)

According to NASA estimates, the Chelyabinsk meteorite is the largest known celestial body that fell to Earth after the Tunguska meteorite. They started talking about him on February 15 and do not stop discussing six months later. Exploding in the sky above Chelyabinsk at an altitude of 23 km, the meteorite caused a powerful shock wave, which, as in the case of the Tunguska meteorite, circled the globe twice. Before the explosion, the meteorite weighed about 10 thousand tons and had a diameter of 17 meters, and after that it broke into hundreds of fragments, the largest of which weighed half a ton. The space guest, who brought world fame to the region, is planned to be immortalized in the form of a monument. By the way, the largest fragment of the Chelyabinsk meteorite.

The largest fragment of the Chelyabinsk meteorite

From the bottom of Lake Chebarkul on Wednesday, the largest fragment of the Chelyabinsk meteorite weighing about 570 kilograms was raised. It was not possible to measure the exact weight, as the scales broke.

Sergey Zamozdra, associate professor at the Chelyabinsk State University, confirmed that this fragment is a meteorite.

“According to the initial examination and the signs characteristic of stone meteorites, we can say that this fragment is a fragment of the Chelyabinsk meteorite. It has a powerful melting bark, rust is clearly visible, a large number of dents. This is the largest fragment of a meteorite, most likely it will be among the ten largest meteorites that have been found,” Zamozdra said.

Most likely it will become one of the 10 largest meteorite fragments found in history.
NASA has already requested several samples for research.

However, there is still information that the meteorite fell into three parts during the ascent.

According to AN "Access", the day before, the company's employees took out the largest fragment of silt, attached pontoons to it and towed it to the shore. They pulled out a fragment, wrapped by divers in a casing, on a kind of steel sled with the help of a winch. However, when raised, the shard broke into three pieces.

On the shore, experts managed to weigh only two fragments out of three, after which the scales, designed for 500 kg, broke down. For two fragments, they showed a total weight of 570 kg.

Now the fragments will be handed over to scientists for research. According to them, the raised fragments of the Chelyabinsk meteorite claim to be among the largest in the world.

It is already known that the meteorite will remain in the Chelyabinsk region. First, the alien body will be studied by scientists, and then transferred to the Chelyabinsk Regional Museum of Local Lore for storage.

Goba is the largest meteorite ever found. It is preserved at the crash site in southwestern Africa, in Namibia, near the Goba West farm. It is also the largest piece of iron of natural origin on Earth.
This iron meteorite weighing about 66 tons and a volume of 9 m³ fell in prehistoric times, and was found in Namibia in 1920 near Grotfontein. It got its name from Hoba West Farm, where, in fact, it was discovered by the owner of the farm. According to him, he came across a meteorite while plowing one of his fields.

Fell about 80 thousand years ago. It was found by pure chance, because there was no crater or other traces of the fall. Apparently, the atmosphere slowed down the fall of the meteorite, and there were no large energy releases. The meteorite is also interesting in that it has a relatively smooth and flat surface.

The Goba meteorite is a dense metal body measuring 2.7 × 2.7 × 0.9 meters, consisting of 84% iron and 16% nickel with a small admixture of cobalt. From above, the meteorite is covered with iron hydroxides. In terms of crystal structure, Goba is a nickel-rich ataxite.

The meteorite has never been weighed. It is believed that its initial mass when it fell to Earth was about 90 tons. In 1920, its mass, according to estimates, was about 66 tons, but erosion, scientific research and vandalism did their job: the meteorite "lost" to 60 tons.

In 1985 Rossing Uranium Ltd. allocated funds to the government of South West Africa to strengthen measures to protect the meteorite from vandals. In 1987, farm owner Hoba West donated the meteorite and the land it sits on to the state. After that, the government opened a tourist center in this place. Every year, thousands of tourists come to see the meteorite. Acts of vandalism have come to naught.

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