KOPARGAON meteorite fall (LL5) near Bhojade Chauki (भोजडे चौकी) in Kanhegaon (कान्हेगाव) village, Kopargaon (कोपरगाव) subdistrict, Ahmednagar (अहमदनगर) district, Maharashtra, India at ~6.50 am IST (~1.20 UT) on 24 January 2023

Last update: 3 January 2023

An meteorite (~1 kg, ordinary chondrite, LL5) fell through the roof of Kiran Bbnraav Thaakre’s (Kiran Babanrao Thakre, किरण बबनराव ठाकरे) house near the settlement Bhojade Chauki (भोजडे चौकी) in the Kanhegaon (कान्हेगाव) village of the Kopargaon (कोपरगाव) subdistrict in Ahmednagar (अहमदनगर) in Maharashtra at around 6.50 am IST (~1.20 UT) on 24 January 2023. According to our own research the meteorite fell at exactly this location 19°52’28.5″N 74°33’45.3″E, north of Bhojade Chauki (भोजडे चौकी). The meteorite pierced the flat metal roof of the house and shattered into several fragments when it hit the floor of the bedroom below, leaving an impact dent. During the time of the fall Thaakre was looking at his mobile phone while being in bed. Then he heard a sound coming from the roof and immediately after that found the fragments on the floor inside the house. At around 8.30 am IST Thaakre called the police. Assistant police inspector Suresh Awad and his colleagues of Kopargaon Taluka Police Station visited the find location. Fragments of the possible meteorite have been handed over to the Kopargaon Taluka Police who said they would hand it over to an Astronomy department for analysis. A neighbour and eye-witness called Mahindra Baaburaav Singar (Mahindra Baburao Singar, महिंद्र बाबुराव सिनगर) saw something bright falling in the sky and heard a loud sound while he was gargling his sore throat with salt water outside. Kieran Thaakre’s father reports that there was a sound which sounded like a burst tire.

On 3 January 2024 the fall was officially registered in the MetBull database as KOPARGAON (LL5, S3)


Meteorite fall in Bhojade village, Kopargaon taluk, Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India

Ray, D.; Shukla, A. D.; Bhardwaj, Anil

Current Science
Volume 124, Issue 10
25 May, 2023
Scientific Correspondence


Close-up of a fragment. Image: My News

Fragments on the floor. Photo: deshdoot

Fragments on the bedroom floor.

Scattered fragments after impact on floor.

The impact dent on the bedroom floor after the removal of the fragments.

Impact hole in the roof.

Impact hole in the roof.

Inspecting the hole in the roof.

Video: निर्भीड कोपरगाव न्यूज / Nirbhid Kopargaon News (24 January 2023)

Video: D NEWS KOPRGAON (24 January 2023)

Video: My News (24 January 2023)