Tekapo (prov.) meteorite of bolide at 21:04:10 NZDT (08:04:10 UTC) on 13 March 2024 found south of Lake Takapō/Tekapo, Mackenzie Basin, Canterbury, New Zealand

21/03/2024 06:46 · by karmaka · in meteor/meteoroid/bolide, ordinary chondrite, witnessed fall

Last update: 2 April 2024, 18:22 CET

An apple-sized ~800-gram meteorite (ordinary chondrite) of the bolide on 13 March 2024 has been found by 29-year old voluteer Jack Weterings from Wellington on public DOC land, a glacial plain south of Lake Takapō/Tekapo, Mackenzie Basin, Canterbury, New Zealand in the morning of 21 March 2024. The meteorite was found among local greywacke during a public meteorite search expedition after about 10 to 20 minutes while the members of the Fireballs Aotearoa search team were on their way to the calculated search area where they hoped to find a meteorite of about 0.6 to 1.6 kilogram (nominal mass of 0.9 kg). Using data from NZ0015, NZ000T (Fiordland College, Te Anau), NZ000S (Maniototo Area School, Ranfurly), and NZ000D (Oamaru North, Oamaru) Denis Vida, Jesse Stayte and Peter McKellar calculated the atmospheric trajectory and preatmospheric orbit. Data from the weather station data from Invercargill were used to calculate the dark flight trajectory. On 16March Dennis Behan and Marshall Palmer explored the area during a first reconnaissance search expedition. The meteorite was apparently found about 1-2 kilometres south of Lake Takapō/Tekapo outside the designated search area and it left a shallow impact dent in the hard ground. The meteoritic nature of the find was confirmed in the field by University of Otago geologist Marshall Palmer after examining it with a hand held XRF device. The finder has relinquished any and all ownership rights to Fireballs Aotearoa. The meteorite has been sent to University of Otago for further analysis. A 3D scan of the meteorite has been or will be made. Plaster casts of the impact pit have been made by Damien McNamara and he also captured the impact site via photogrammetry. The fall location itself has been marked with a ring of stones. The Fireballs Aotearoa camera network had recorded the 6.72-second bolide’s luminous trail from an altitude of about 96 km (speed 18 km/s) down to 23.3 km where it had slowed down to 5 km/s and entered the dark flight trajectory. An eyewitness from Twizel (Canterbury), about 41 kilometres southwest from the fall site, reports having heard “a long loud continuous thunder-like boom followed by a crashing sound and shaking”. Fireballs Aotearoa has calculated an inner solar system Aten-type preatmospheric orbit. The meteorite will most likely be on public display in a museum in New Zealand. From 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm local on 2 April 2024 Dr Marshall Palmer, Steve Wyn-Harris and Dennis Behan were giving a free public talk on the meteorite fall at Tūhura Otago Museum ‘s Hutton Theatre in Dunedin. During the talk the meteorite was shown to the public for the first time. It is planned to do a 3D scan of the meteorite before it will be decided where to cut off a chunk for the classification and radiometric dating of the meteorite.

The meteorite in-situ. Photo: Fireballs Aotearoa

The Tekapo (prov.) meteorite inside its impact pit. Photo: Marina Stroinigg

The meteorite in-situ in its impact pit at 10:17 am local on 21 March 2024. Photo: Fireballs Aotearoa

The Tekapo (prov.) meteorite. Photo: Marina Stroinigg

Photo: Steve Wyn-Harris/ Fireballs Aotearoa

The meteorite at its fall site. Photo: Aiman Amerul Muner

Photo: Fireballs Aotearoa

Photo: Fireballs Aotearoa

Photo: Fireballs Aotearoa

The Tekapo (prov.) meteorite fall site. Photo: Marina Stroinigg

Photogrammetry rendering of the impact site. Video: Damien McNamara

The Tekapo (prov.) meteorite at Tūhura Otago Museum on 2 April 2024. Photo: Ian Griffin

THE BOLIDE

The bolide (AMS event 1392-2024) was visible for 6.72 seconds and was recorded from the National Institute Of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in Lauder, New Zealand, at location 45°02’16.3″S, 169°40’59.1″E, ~130 kilometres south-southwest of Lake Tekapo. Video: Allsky7 (AMS247), Richard Querel (NIWA), James Scott

Calculated trajectory of the luminous trail and designated search area south of Lake Takapō/Tekapo. Image: Fireballs Aotearoa

The New Zealand camera network and the trajectory of the Tekapo (prov.) bolide. Image: Fireballs Aotearoa

The bolide as recorded by Dennis Behan’s Global Meteor Network camera NZ0015 at Arthurs Point, Queenstown (44°59’08.7″S, 168°40’46.2″E) , about 175 kilometres southwest from the approximate find location of the meteorite. Video: Dennis Behan

Cumulative image of the bolide as recorded by Dennis Behan’s Global Meteor Network camera NZ0015 at Arthurs Point, Queenstown , about 175 kilometres southwest from the approximate find location of the meteorite. Photo: Dennis Behan

Trajectory calculation has used visual data from these Global Meteor Network cameras: NZ0015 (44°59’08.7″S, 168°40’46.2″E), about 175 kilometres southwest from the approximate find location of the meteorite, NZ000S 45°07’31.5″S, 170°05’57.5″E , about 124 kilometres south-southwest from the approximate find location of the meteorite, NZ000T 45°24’35.4″S, 167°43’27.6″E , about 263.5 kilometres southwest from the approximate find location of the meteorite, and NZ000D ~ 45°04’00.1″S, 170°59’14.8″E about 122 kilometres south-southeast from the approximate find location of the meteorite.