{"id":35679,"date":"2024-03-21T06:46:42","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T05:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/karmaka.de\/?p=35679"},"modified":"2026-04-23T22:21:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T20:21:17","slug":"meteorite-of-bolide-on-13-march-2024-apparently-found-south-of-takapo-tekapo-mackenzie-country-new-zealand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/karmaka.de\/?p=35679","title":{"rendered":"Takap\u014d meteorite (810 g, L5, S5\/6) of bolide at 21:04:10 NZDT (08:04:10 UTC) on 13 March 2024 found south of Lake Takap\u014d\/Tekapo, Mackenzie Basin, Canterbury, New Zealand"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last update: 23 April 2026, 22:20 CEST<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An apple-sized 810-gram meteorite (L5, S5\/6) of the bolide on 13 March 2024 has been found by 29-year old voluteer Jack Weterings from Wellington at location 44\u00b006.009960’S, 170\u00b025.024080’E<\/a><\/a>, on public DOC land, a glacial plain south of Lake Takap\u014d\/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<\/a> 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). Members of the search team were S. Adam, A. Barrajun, D. Behan, W. Chang, S. Eberlin, E. Gapper, E. Gapper, M. Gapper, Z. Gapper, A. Gilmore, P. Gilmore, T.Y. Lin, S. Robb, G. Rocord, P. Silva, R. McCarthy, M. Midgley, A. Muner, M. Palmer, T. Richarson, M. Stroinigg, J. Weterings, H. Williams, M. Williams, S. Wilson S. Wyn-Harris, and M. Ying. 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 16 <\/sup>March Dennis Behan and Marshall Palmer explored the area during a first reconnaissance search expedition. The meteorite was reportedly found about 11.8 kilometres south-southwest of Lake Takap\u014d\/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. From 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm NZDT on 2 April 2024 Dr Marshall Palmer, Steve Wyn-Harris and Dennis Behan were giving a free public talk on the meteorite fall at T\u016bhura Otago Museum ‘s Hutton Theatre in Dunedin. During the talk the meteorite was shown to the public for the first time. A 3D scan of the meteorite was done before it was decided where to cut off chunks for the classification and radiometric dating of the meteorite. The meteorite’s remaining main mass (720.38 g) and four fragments cut from it (11.52 g, 3.59 g, 4.83 g, 4.54 g) are curated at T\u016bhura Otago Museum and three fragments (5.3 g, 4.91 g, 1.4 g) are curated at Otago University. On 18 October 2024 the fall was officially registered as Takap\u014d<\/strong><\/a> (L5, W0) in the Meteoritical Bulletin Database. The Takap\u014d meteorite was presented at T\u016bhura Otago Museum on 23 April 2026 and can be found in the museum\u2019s Southern Land, Southern People gallery. We strongly support T\u016bhura Otago Museum curator Kane Fleury’s expression of regret that the government funding for the Fireballs Aotearoa camera network, which made this meteorite find possible, does unfortunately not exist anymore. This fact will make future meteorite finds in New Zealand more unlikely and should be reconsidered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The meteorite in-situ. Photo: Fireballs Aotearoa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Takap\u014d meteorite inside its impact pit. Photo: Marina Stroinigg<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The meteorite in-situ in its impact pit at 10:17 am local on 21 March 2024. Photo: Fireballs Aotearoa <\/p>\n\n\n

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The Takap\u014d meteorite. Photo: Marina Stroinigg<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Takap\u014d meteorite. Photo: Marshall Palmer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Steve Wyn-Harris\/ Fireballs Aotearoa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The meteorite at its fall site. Photo: Aiman Amerul Muner<\/p>\n\n\n

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Photo: Fireballs Aotearoa <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Fireballs Aotearoa <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Fireballs Aotearoa <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Takap\u014d meteorite fall site. Photo: Marina Stroinigg<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Takap\u014d meteorite at T\u016bhura Otago Museum on 2 April 2024. Photo: Ian Griffin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The meteorite at the museum in April 2026. After the removal of the type mass for classification the cut surface of the remaining mass reveals the L chondrite lithology of the meteorite. Photo: T\u016bhura Otago Museum<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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THE BOLIDE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bolide (AMS event 1392-2024<\/a>) 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\u00b002’16.3″S, 169\u00b040’59.1″E<\/a>, ~130 kilometres south-southwest of Lake Tekapo. Video: Allsky7 (AMS247), Richard Querel (NIWA), James Scott<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bolide (AMS event 1392-2024<\/a>) 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\u00b002’16.3″S, 169\u00b040’59.1″E<\/a>, ~130 kilometres south-southwest of Lake Tekapo. Video: Allsky7 (AMS247), Richard Querel (NIWA), James Scott <\/p>\n\n\n

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Calculated trajectory of the luminous trail and designated search area south of Lake Takap\u014d\/Tekapo. Image: Fireballs Aotearoa <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The New Zealand camera network and the trajectory of the Tekapo (prov.) bolide. Image: Fireballs Aotearoa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bolide as recorded by Dennis Behan’s Global Meteor Network camera NZ0015 at Arthurs Point, Queenstown (44\u00b059’08.7″S, 168\u00b040’46.2″E<\/a>) , about 175 kilometres southwest from the approximate find location of the meteorite. Video: Dennis Behan <\/p>\n\n\n

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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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trajectory calculation has used visual data from these Global Meteor Network cameras: NZ0015 (44\u00b059’08.7″S, 168\u00b040’46.2″E<\/a>), about 175 kilometres southwest from the approximate find location of the meteorite, NZ000S 45\u00b007’31.5″S, 170\u00b005’57.5″E<\/a> , about 124 kilometres south-southwest from the approximate find location of the meteorite, NZ000T 45\u00b024’35.4″S, 167\u00b043’27.6″E<\/a> , about 263.5 kilometres southwest from the approximate find location of the meteorite, and NZ000D ~ 45\u00b004’00.1″S, 170\u00b059’14.8″E<\/a> about 122 kilometres south-southeast from the approximate find location of the meteorite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Skyfit2-Modelling of the trajectory. Velocity and time of the fireball, as determined from camera NZ000S, D, T and 15. Image: Fireballs Aotearoa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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THE ORBIT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The calculated orbit of the rock that formed the meteor is shown in green. Earth (blue), Venus (yellow), Mars (red). Image: Fireballs Aotearoa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MEDIA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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