Três Irmãos – meteorite fall in Água Branca, Palmas de Monte Alto, Bahia, Brazil at ~11:20 a.m. (14:20 UTC) on 26 May 2017

29/05/2017 18:08 · by karmaka · in L, ordinary chondrite, Três Irmãos, witnessed fall

Last update: 16 August 2017

The exact Três Irmãos fall location 14°7’1.50″, 43°3’51.07″W (up is north).

The Três Irmãos meteorite (9 cm (length), 5 cm (height), 6 cm (width), an ordinary chondrite (L6, S3, W0) weighing about 950 grams was found by Sirlene da Silva Paes (33) and the 12-year-old girl Márcia Eduarda Paes. Together with Sirlene’s mother Euzane Silva Paes they had heard a loud noise which reminded Euzane of a bursting tyre of a bike. Sirlene went out of the house, stood at the front door and at 11:30 a.m. local (14:30 UTC), minutes after they heard the rumbling thunder, saw the dust cloud caused by the impact. She went to the place and found the meteorite near the farm’s sandy dirt road on which it had impacted. It was found about six meters west of the shallow impact pit. According to Sirlene’s statements the meteorite was still hot when she touched it first. She immediately dropped it again and when she picked it up again moments later it was still lukewarm. The exact fall location in the rural Água Branca area was here: 14°7’1.50″, 43°3’51.07″W

“Talvez eu pegasse a pedra e jogasse nas vacas, como faço com as outras, se não tivesse visto a queda”
(Sirlene da Silva Paes)

Sirlene’s 9-year-old son João Kevin apparently was the first to comprehend that the find was a meteorite. The meteorite was found about 70 meters away from the house of Sirlene’s father José Otílio Francisco (‘Bieba’) Paes (71) who owns the Fazenda Água Branca. After her find Sirlene took a photo of the meteorite and together with the help of neighbours and friends informed the history teacher Nilton Flávio Azevedo who went to the fall location and confirmed that the found specimen was a meteorite indeed. He took photos and made films of the fall location and contacted André Moutinho who then contacted Maria Elizabeth Zucolotto. On 2 June 2017 Sirlene de Silva Paes sold the meteorite to the Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), the Museu Nacional da Universidade Federal in Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and the Palmas de Monte Alto City Hall where the main mass is exhibited. All three institutions have received a part of the meteorite for research and exhibition. A sample of the meteorite was sent or given to Maria Elizabeth Zucolotto at the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro for classification. Apparently no visual recordings of the daylight bolide have been reported yet. On 15 August 2017 Tres Irmaos was registered in the Meteoritical Bulletin database.

Pedaço de meteorito é encontrado na zona rural de Palmas de Monte Alto by Vilson da Silva Nunes