Description
0.145g with crust. Sold in a box with label/certificate.
This meteorite fell December 7, 1863 at approximately 7:30 AM in Belgium.
“An extraordinary meteorological phenomenon, which struck terror into the hearts of local residents, occurred in Tourinnes-la-Grosse—at the spot known as “Le Rond Chêne” on the main road, just 80 meters from my farm and less than 25 meters from several workers’ cottages—on Monday, December 7, 1863, around 11:00 a.m. The sound of four successive detonations first alerted the public; these initial blasts were followed by a similar noise—slightly less intense but far more prolonged—interspersed with a sound resembling heavy gunfire. About twenty seconds later, as everyone rushed out of their homes to discuss what had just happened, a hissing sound arose, resembling the noise of a rapid steam leak…
At the same time, several people clearly saw what looked like a tongue of cloud—apparently two meters long—descending sharply from north to south at a steep angle, before shattering against the cobblestones right before the eyes of the astonished onlookers. This strange phenomenon lasted about a minute and a half. Once the crowd had somewhat recovered from its shock, people rushed to examine what had fallen; to their surprise, they found pieces of stone of various sizes! …and they were seen picking up even the smallest ones.”
Another fragment of the stone was recovered in a fir wood, 1,795 meters—as the crow flies—from the first piece. This fragment sheared through a fir tree measuring 26 cm in circumference at its base, at a height of 2.28 meters above the ground!
The explosion of the meteorite must have been extremely violent: …the detonations and the sounds caused by the erratic zigzags the phenomenon traced—more or less obliquely—through the air were heard in Tirlemont, Jodoigne, Charleroi, etc., and people everywhere were astounded.“
