Ménétréol-sur-Sauldre (prov.) meteorite fall (714 g, H5 ?) in Ménétréol-sur-Sauldre, Sauldre et Sologne, Cher, Centre-Val de Loire, France at ~22:13:38-48 UTC on 9 September 2023 (~00:13:38-48 CEST, 10 September 2023)

13/09/2023 16:37 · by karmaka · in ordinary chondrite, witnessed fall

Last update: 16 October 2023, 09:29 CEST

On 13 September 2023 Vigie-Ciel reported the finding of a meteorite, including a rare recording of the sound the meteorite made on impact.

On 12 September 2023 Vigie-Ciel was contacted by a member of Pôle des Étoiles of Nançay who reported that a woman living within the community Sauldre et Sologne (Cher, Centre-Val de Loire) had found a meteorite in the garden of her property on 12 September. On inspection it turned out to be a fragmented but fresh-looking ordinary chondrite. The sound of the impact of the meteorite on a table surface was recorded by the finder’s security camera as well. A 301.69-gram fragment has been given to the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN) in Paris, France. This 301.69-gram fragment was rapidly brought from the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris, France to the Department of Nuclear Physics and Biophysics (Division of Radiation Physics) at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia by Dr Ludovic Ferrière (Naturhistorisches Museum (NHM), Vienna, Austria). At the Department of Nuclear Physics (Division Radiation Physics) cosmogenic radioisotopes have been measured via Gamma-ray spectroscopy since 14 September to determine among other aspects the cosmic ray exposure age of the meteorite fragment. According to calculations by Tioga Gulon (BOAM/Météores devision of MIMAS) based on BOAM camera network data and other members of MIMAS (Météores Impactisme Météories Association Scientifique) the meteorite fell within the community Ménétréol-sur-Sauldre [see media section below].

On 13 October 2023 at 7 p.m. Brigitte Zanda (Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN) in Paris, France), Asma Steinhausser (MNHN) and Dr Ludovic Ferrière (Naturhistorisches Museum (NHM), Vienna, Austria) informed the local population about the meteorite fall at a conference in the Atomic Cinéma in Aubigny-sur-Nère.

Any person wishing to search for meteorites in the calculated fall area is hereby strongly asked to behave in a respectful, non-invasive and non-destructive way and not to trespass on any private property without the explicit consent of the respective landowner. Any other behaviour is very damaging to the international community of meteorite aficionados! All possible finders of a meteorite are urged to send their find data (find location, weight, photo etc.) to Vigie-Ciel to contribute to an adequate scientific documentation of this meteorite fall. Please do not use any magnet on the surface of a found meteorite, because it destroys scientifically important paleomagnetic signatures within the specimen. Thank you!

The reassembled meteorite (714 g). Photo: Vigie-Ciel

The reassembled meteorite. Photo: Vigie-Ciel/Pôle des étoiles : planétarium en Berry Sologne

Fragment revealing the chondrite’s lithology. Photo: Pôle des étoiles : planétarium en Berry Sologne (13 September 2023)

Audio recording of the security camera

Sound of the impact of the meteorite on the surface of a table in the garden. Source: FRIPON/Vigie-Ciel

Scientific analysis

The 301.69-gram fragment within the lead shield before the analysis in the gamma-ray spectrometer at Comenius University in Bratislava on 14 September 2023. Photo: Prof. Dr. Pavel P. Povinec

The bolide

Bolide du 10 septembre, 00h13 (FRIPON/Vigie-Ciel , 10 September 2023)

Still photo of the bolide, as recorded by the FRIPON camera of Pôle des étoiles near Nançay.

The bolide (>7.5 sec) recorded from Boissy-sous-Saint-Yon [48°33’40.22″ N, 2°12’38.44″ E], Île-de-France. Video: Patrick Richon

The bolide recorded with the BOAM camera near Chinon (47°10’09.1″N, 0°16’31.8″E). Video: L’association Astronomie en Chinonais

Still image of the bolide as recorded with the BOAM camera in/near Cérilly, about 100 kilometres south to southeast from the fall area. Image: Tioga Gulon