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Fully crusted individual with inventory label from The Vienna Museum of Natural History. The Mocs meteorite shower fell on February 3, 1882 at 16:00 hours in the afternoon in Cluj, Transylvania. Around 300 kilograms of stones were recovered, the largest of 56 kg. The majority of the specimens collected were purchased from the Vienna Museum of Natural History, and from there many were distributed to other museums in Europe and the US via trades .

The majority of the Pultusk meteorites that were collected after the fall were tiny pellets also known as “Pultusk peas”. With 74 g this meteorite already is a rarity from this location. However, recent discoveries made with metal detectiors include larger specimens as well. This fresh individual was collected and sold to 19th Century Mineral dealer Anton Berger right after the fall and shows well preserved fusion texture and adherent soil, a small chip has broken off one edge.

Cuboid and compact specimen with six surfaces and fresh secondary crust. “The Thuathe meteorite was travelling east to west and exploded over Lesotho producing an elliptical strewn field extending 7.4 by 1.9 km (bearing: ~276°) on the westernmost lobe of the Thuathe (or Berea) Plateau, ~12 km east of the capital city of Maseru. The explosion was accompanied by an extraordinarily loud, 15 s long noise which was heard over a large (100 km radius) area of Lesotho; the fall was eye-witnessed by several people who reported sightings of dust trails of “sparkling objects” over Lesotho and the southern part of the Free State Province of South Africa. Many villagers of Ha Ralimo, Boqate Ha Majara, and Boqate Ha Sofonia reported falls of stones close to themselves and onto their homes” (Met Bul. no. 87). This specimen is listed in the Ambrose Catalog as number 122 and was found in zone A on the Thuathe Plateau between Baruting and Ha Ralimo.

Walnut-sized mass that fragmented along a shock plane on one surface. Slickensides and few remnant chondrules visible. At 16:45 UTC in the afternoon of September 15 the small town of Carancas in Peru was shaken by an enormous detonation. Eye wittnesses descibed a smoke trail that had descended from the sky and exploded on contact with the ground. Windows were shattered and buildings were damaged by ejected secondary debris. A mushroom shaped explosion cloud raised from the impact site and stood several minutes above a fresh crater measuring 13 meters in diameter. Carancas is an exceptionally rare case of a contemporary stone meteorite fall that produced a crater.

“History: In fall and winter, 2007 ~100 kg of meteorites were collected in the Erg Chech, north of Taoudenni. Nomads reported the stones fell after a smoke cloud was seen and several detonations were heard over a wide area during daytime in July 2007. The finder of the first meteorites was Mr Ouled Bleila, who died in a car accident on his way back from the trip to the Chergach strewn field in October 2007. According to the Tuareg people from Algeria who visited the fall site in September 2007, the elliptical strewn field stretches for more than 20 km in a northeasterly direction. No fireball was reported. “Meteoritical Bulletin 94, 2008.

This specimen is a brick-shaped individual with fresh fusion crust, gently curved flanks, lipping on several edges and radial flow lines on one surface (pictured). Obvioulsy this was the front end in the last stage of the ablation phase. Elegant and immaculate meteorite.

The 2nd collection specimen is a 492 g dhield-shaped oriented individual with convex breastside and centred apex. Radial flow lines and distinct splash marks originating from the apex cover the complete convex breastside. The flow lines run around the smoothened edges and disappear into deep gorge shaped regmaglypts on the retral flanks. These furrows contributed to a stable flight attidude of the projectile. The trailing edge shows a distinct melt rim along three quarters of the edge. Fusion crust on the breastside is deep black with flow lines and splash marks shimmering in the light as if still liquid. The trailing edge displays a thick fusion crust with a more velvet like texture and a shade of brownish red. The meteorite measures 10.2 x 9.4 x 3.9 cm.

Fully crusted individual with pyramidal shape and trapezoid base. The specimen has seven surfaces of which two display primary fusion crust while the remaining show secondary crust. The mass apparently sheared off a larger mass while still in the hot flight phase. This particular meteorite was recovered using metal detectors by a Russian field team in Spring 2008. Although in the ground for 71 years, the meteorite shows only very little weathering. The lower photograph shows the meteorite in situ.

The Oum Dreyga meteorite fell in Western Sahara after a brilliant fireball in a heavily mined area along fortified positions of the Moroccan Army guarding the border to Algeria. The current MINURSO fort where a detachment of the United Nations is stationed to survey the Western Sahara conflict is only a few kilometers from the fall site. Only a fraction of the fallen meteorites could be recovered in the difficult and rocky terrain. The 65 g individual shows a thick rich fusion crust with one surface enclosed by lipping.