The Braunschweig meteorite − a recent L6 chondrite fall in Germany
Rainer Bartoschewitz, Peter Appel, Jean-Alix Barrat, Addi Bischoff, Marc W. Caffee, Ian A. Franchi, Zelimir Gabelica, Richard C. Greenwood, Mourad Harir, Dennis Harries, Rupert Hochleitner, Jens Hopp, Matthias Laubenstein, Barbara Mader, Rosa Marques, Andreas Morlok, Gert Nolze, Maria Isabel Prudêncio, Pierre Rochette, Alexander Ruf, Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin, et al.
Chemie der Erde – Geochemistry
In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 15 November 2016
“On April 23rd 2013 at 2:07 a.m., a 1.3 kg meteorite fell in the Braunschweig suburb Melverode (52° 13′ 32.19″ N. 10° 31′ 11.60″ E). Its estimated velocity was 250 km/h and it formed an impact pit in the concrete fall site with a diameter of 7 cm and a depth of 3 cm. Radial dust striae are present around the impact pit. As a result of the impact, the meteorite disintegrated into several hundred fragments with masses up to 214 g. The meteorite is a typical L6 chondrite, moderately shocked (S4) – but with a remarkably high porosity (up to 20 vol%). The meteorite was ejected from its parent body as an object with a radius of about 10–15 cm (15–50 kg). The U,Th-He gas retention age of ∼550 Ma overlaps with the main impact event on the L-chondrite parent body ∼470 Ma ago that is recorded by many shocked L chondrites. The preferred cosmic-ray exposure age derived from production of radionuclides and noble gas isotopes is (6.0 ± 1.3) Ma.”
