Meteorite Recon | Henbury craters and meteorites, book on the Henbury, Australia iron meteorites and meteorite craters, Their discovery, history and study, meteorite photos and strewnfield map
In 1931, the cluster of craters at Henbury Cattle Station south of Alice Springs in Central Australia was one of the first places on Earth where a group of impact structures could definitely be linked to the fall of iron meteorites. It was also the first place where radial rays and loops of ejected rock material, comparable to those seen around craters on the Moon, were observed. As such it was one of the primary observation sites associated with the science of meteoritics in its infancy.
Henbury iron meteorites and meteorite craters, meteorite strewnfield map, regmaglypts, octahedrite, images
Find location of the Hocheppan meteorite according to the finder. Photo courtesy of D. Janek.
Cut and natural surface of the Hocheppan meteorite.
According to Meteoritic Bulletin entry, “Hocheppan” a H5 chondrite of 1.236 kg with mostly intact fusion crust, was found in October 2016 on a hillside covered with scree below Gantkofel mountain in Northern Italy. The appearance of the meteorite as seen in pictures from the find location raised questions about the authenticity of the find location and a debate whether the meteorite is in fact a transported desert find.
A forensic study by Karl Wimmer to address these questions included the thorough inspection of the find location, an extensive interview with the finder and detailed investigations of the meteorite features by XRF, Raman and microscopy.
As the controverse continues, we encourage stakeholders in this topic to submit further research. Provided these contributions meet basic scientific standards, we will be happy to post or link further research and replies here.
