Jatilaba (prov.) meteorite fall in Jatilaba, Margasari District, Tegal Regency, Central Java, Indonesia at ~6:35:28 pm WIB (~11:35:28 UTC) on 5 October 2025

08/10/2025 13:40 · by karmaka · in meteorite, witnessed fall

Last update: 16 November 2025 (15:40 CET)

At around 6:35:28 pm WIB (~11:35:28 UTC) on 5 October 2025 a ~1.25-kilogram meteorite (probably an ordinary chondrite) fell in the yard next to Ibu Nur’s house in the northwest of the village Jatilaba, Margasari District, Tegal Regency, Central Java, Indonesia.

The three-sided pyramid-shaped and almost fully fusion-crusted meteorite was found after sunset in the evening shortly after up to five loud detonation booms, similar to thunder, were heard in the area, causing the windowpanes of houses in the village to vibrate. Ibu Nur’s son Ibnu (11) was playing with about five of his friends at Ibu Nur’s little shop (‘warung’) in her home. While sitting on a veranda at location 7°02’40.7″S, 109°01’34.1″E facing north, Ibnu saw the reddish and towards the end rather whitish ~6-second bolide descended in a northern direction (slightly angled, either towards west or east). A few minutes later they heard three to five loud detonation sounds. Ibu Nur’s daughter reportedly said jokingly that maybe a star had fallen. According to Ibu Nur for a few minutes a droning sounds was heard, similar to plane turbojet sound. Then they heard a crashing sound and witnessed a dust cloud when the meteorite hit the sandy ground of the yard, only a few metres away. They immediately went to the fall site about 9 metres away (at location 7°02’40.4″S, 109°01’34.2″E), very close to Jatilaba’s ancient Muslim Kulon cemetery). It was Ibnu who spotted the meteorite first next to a Carambola tree. He found the meteorite inside its impact pit (~20 cm wide, ~10 cm deep). The meteorite was still warm when Ibnu touched it. The boys screamed with joy and attracted other local residents. At the time of the fall Ibu Nur’s northern neighbor Wasroni (40-50), also called Wao, was still in the house but had heard the detonation booms coming from a northern direction. Wasroni later touched the meteorite, which by then was not warm anymore. He took it home and kept it there until on a Friday the village head Pak Jumadi and some police men came to him and took the meteorite. They told him the meteorite belonged to Ibu Nur who owns the house south of his house. The meteorite was then stored in Pak Jumadi’s house until sold it to a foreign dealer in mid-October 2025. The meteorite mass will thus unfortunately be taken out of the country and won’t be available to the Indonesian public or scientists in the future. The village government had initially reported the discovery to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) for further investigation. On 7 October Jatilaba Village Head Jumadi confirmed the discovery and explained that by then no official agency, such as LAPAN or BMKG, had come to examine the meteorite. The BMKG Seismic Sensor with the ACJM code located in Astanajapura District, Cirebon Regency recorded the bolide’s significant vibration event at 18:39:11-14 WIB from a southwestern azimuth of 221.3°. The estimated meteorite strewn field is located between the north-northwest and the southwest of Jatilaba. On 14 October a first social media report about another meteorite mass weighing about 16 kilograms were published. The mass was found by a craftsman, Mr. Dayot, in a rice field near Lake Beko, about 1.2 kilometre south-southwest of Jatilaba at a depth of about one metre.

“Saat itu saya sedang bermain dengan teman-teman seperti biasa. Kemudian melihat seperti bola api jatuh dari langit. Karena penasaran langsung mencari jatuhnya dimana ternyata ada di pekarangan rumah. Sempat pegang batu rasanya hangat.” (Ibnu)

(“I was playing with my friends as usual. Then I saw what looked like a fireball falling from the sky. Out of curiosity, I immediately looked for it, and it turned out it was in the yard. I touched the rock and it felt warm.”) (Ibnu)

The viewing angle and location on Ibu Nur’s veranda at location 7°02’40.7″S, 109°01’34.1″E facing north from where Ibnu and his friends saw the incoming bolide. Photo: Elang Erlangga.

Impact location in the north as seen from Ibu Nur’s veranda at location 7°02’40.7″S, 109°01’34.1″E. Photo: Elang Erlangga.

The impact location between Ibu Nur’s and Wasroni’s houses as seen from a southern direction. Photo: Elang Erlangga

The inhabitant Nua Aeni reports this about the moment the meteorite was found: “Well, it started after sunset, the kids were playing, then there was a thundering sound. I thought it was like it was going to rain. At that time, I asked the kids, “What’s going on? What’s going on?” They said they didn’t know. Then, the fifth time it thundered, something fell. The kids said, “Look, that’s a ray of light coming from the north, and it fell there.” So, the kids ran to look for it, and it turned out to be a rock. Then Mas Ibnu picked it up and showed me the thing that had fallen. He said, “This is the star. This is the one big star. He said it was shaped like a stone. The color – when I picked it up, it was half black and some were black. The child said it was still warm when he held it. When he showed me the stone, it was still warm. Then he put it down. Then I looked down. I saw the child carrying the stone and then he took it.”

Nua Aeni: “Eh, awalnya pas itu ya habis magrib anak-anak lagi pada main terus ada suara geluduk lah ya. Dikira kayak suara geluduk mau hujan gitu. Pas itu saya tanya sama anak-anak, “Ada apa? Ada apa?” Anak bilang enggak tahu ada apa gitu. Terus pas ke lima kalinya geluduk itu ada benda jatuh. Kata anak-anak lihat itu sinar cahaya gitu dari arah utara terus jatuh di sana. Nah, terus anak-anak pada lari nyari itu ee benda yang tadi jatuh ternyata ada batu. Terus diambillah sama Mas Ibnu terus tunjukin ke saya ini benda yang jatuh. Kata dia, “Ini bintangnya. Ini bintangnya yang satu gede bilang bentuknya batu. warnanya waktu diambil itu separuh hitam si ada hitam-hitam. Kata anak itu masih anget pas dipegang waktu nunjukin ke saya teh masih anget terus ditaruh di bawah. Terus saya lihat gitu ke bawah lihat anak itu bawa patu terus diambil lagi sama anak itu udah diambil lagi diminta sama Mas Wasroni.”

Lake Beko mass (~16 kg)

The video and the two photos below show another ~16-kilogram Jatilaba meteorite mass which was found by a craftsman called Dayot in a rice field near Lake Beko in the southwest of Jatilaba at a depth of about one metre, as first reported on 14 October 2025. The finder was aware of the hole in the ground immediately after the fall but waited for about a week to excavate it from a depth of about one metre. This 16-kilogram meteorite mass also has already been sold to a foreign dealer and thus won’t be publicly available for current and future meteorite enthusiasts in Indonesia.

Video: Bang Manyutt Kagetan

Photo: Bang Manyutt Kagetan (14 October 2025)

Photo: Bang Manyutt Kagetan (14 October 2025)

Excavation of the 16-kilogram meteorite mass in the rice field

Video published by J. Collins on 17 October 2025

Ibu Nur mass (~1.25 kg)

Neighbour Wasroni holding the meteorite. Image: NTV (9 October 2025)

Neighbour Wasroni holding the meteorite. Image: NTV (9 October 2025)

Trailing side of the meteorite. Image: NTV (9 October 2025)

The Jatilaba (prov.) meteorite. Video by a local reporter/Imam Suripto, published by Ahmad Fairuz on 13 October 2025

The fist-sized fusion-crusted meteorite. Photo: Imam Suripto

The fist-sized fusion-crusted meteorite. Photo: unknown

The meteorite being weighed. Photo: unknown

The meteorite at its fall site. Photo: unknown

Wasroni (left) at the fall site next to his house. Photo: detik

Ibnu pointing at the impact pit . Image: NTV (9 October 2025)

Video: Jullie Mom’ny Eza/ (5 October 2025)

Neibors gathering around the impact site in the evening of the fall. Video: Jullie Mom’ny Eza (5 October 2025)

Video: Ibnu being interviewed on 7 October 2025. Bang Tony

Video: Tribun Pantura/Tribun Jateng

Video: Radio Elshinta

Video: Metro TV

Video: Kanal Indonesia TV (9 October 2025)

Video: NTV (9 October 2025)

Video: Semarang TV News (11 October 2025)

Video: Batik TV News (13 October 2025)

Other reported meteorite masses

On 14 November 2025 news about another fragmented meteorite mass were published in social media by a meteorite dealer. The found meteorite mass reportly pierced the roof of a farmer’s house, hit a wall and fragmented into six larger and many smaller fragments which were found on and next to the bed. A farmer and his wife, while sitting and chatting, heard three detonation booms and minutes later some impact on the roof of the house. Inside, on the floor and a bed, they found broken roof tiles and meteorite fragments. Initially they thought a neighbour had thrown a stone on their roof. They started an investigation in the neighborhood. Then while scrolling through social media posts the farmer reportedly came across a post about the meteorite fall in Jatilaba. He decided not to through away the meteorite fragments and roof debris and informed two relatives who live nearby.

Video published by J. Collins on 14 November 2025

Reported impact hole as seen from within the house. Photo from video published by J. Collins

Impacted bed below hole in the roof. Photo from video published by J. Collins

Fragments on bed. Photo from video published by J. Collins

Fragments on bed. Photo from video published by J. Collins

Space between the bed and the impacted wall with two of the larger fragments on the ground. Photo from video published by J. Collins

Hole in wall which the meteorite or falling roof tiles reportedly caused. Photo from video published by J. Collins

The bolide

The bolide in a northeastern direction recorded from location 7°11’15.4″S, 108°47’56.3″E at Etri Rias shop in Cilopadang – Salem, Banjarsari, Banjaran, Salem District, Brebes Regency. The fall site of the meteorite is only 29.7 kilometres in the northeast of the camera location. Video published by Pesona Ketanggungan (5 October 2025)

Bolide on CCTV recording on 5 October 2025. Video: Crbofficial (Tiktok)

Bolide on CCTV recording on 5 October 2025. Video: Crbofficial77 (Tiktok)

The bolide at an azimuth of 262° recorded by the all-sky camera at Observatorium Yanbu’ul Qur’an (location: 6°41’54.0″S, 110°51’02.0″E, 205 kilometres east-northeast from the meteorite fall site) in Menawan, Kudus Regency, Central Java. Photo: Yanbuul Quran Menawan Kudus Observatory

Media coverage of the bolide. Video: Official iNews

Media coverage of the bolide. Video: KOMPASTV JAWA BARAT

The BMKG seismic sensor, codenamed ACJM, located in Atanajapura, Cirebon, recorded significant vibrations (azimuth 221.3°), suspected to be related to the meteoroid detonations. Photo: Daryono (BMKG)

We thank Elang Erlangga for providing valuable information and photos which substantially helped to improve the quality of the description of the exact fall and find situation of the meteorite.