Winchcombe Meteorite.

[andrew63]

I had a visit today to see a piece of the famous Winchecombe Meteorite, recently on display at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. I remember all the excitement at the time in February 2021, but not realised that it was the first recovered in the UK for 30 years. Amazing that the location of the find was assisted by images taken from the UK Meteor camera network, and from the second image posted, to see the actual image of the meteor moments before landfall in Gloucestershire. ☄️ 

[John]

I'll have to pop over to Cardiff and have a look at that 🙂

 

Edited July 8, 2023 by John

[laudropb]

I have a small piece of this fall in my collection.

[John]

Actually, their information is a little out of date. There has been another meteorite found within the past 30 years - the Hambleton Meteorite found in August 2005 in North Yorkshire. Before the Winchcombe fall, the last recorded fall was at Glatton, Cambs in 1991 so that was 30 years earlier. The BBC forgot about the Hambleton Meteorite as well, to be fair, despite reporting it back in 2009:

BBC - York & North Yorkshire - Rare meteorite being analysed

[laudropb]

Hi John there is a little bit of a mixup here.  Winchcombe is the latest meteorite to have been found after a witnessed fall in the UK. The Hambleton  meteorite was a find. We do not know when it fell or how long it lay there. A known fall stone can often be seen as more collectible to some. Scientifically a fresh stone that has not suffered weathering on the Earths surface is also often a bigger prize. I know you have collected meteorites in the past and undoubtedly will know this but the two terms of a fall and a find can often be mixed up in the media’s reports.

[John]

24 minutes ago, laudropb said:

Hi John there is a little bit of a mixup here.  Winchcombe is the latest meteorite to have been found after a witnessed fall in the UK. The Hambleton  meteorite was a find. We do not know when it fell or how long it lay there. A known fall stone can often be seen as more collectible to some. Scientifically a fresh stone that has not suffered weathering on the Earths surface is also often a bigger prize. I know you have collected meteorites in the past and undoubtedly will know this but the two terms of a fall and a find can often be mixed up in the media’s reports.

Yes, I can understand the media getting confused by the terms "fall" and "find". I just thought that the National Museum of Wales information was not quite accurate. Witnessed falls are definitely rarer and more collectable, especially in the UK. I used to have a 1 gram chunk of Barwell which was worth more than many other, scientifically more interesting, specimens in my collection back then 🙄

I'm probably just being a "Metorite Pedant" 😏

 

[Leo S]

Good topic.

I'm not sure if people realize just how big a deal Winchcombe is.  Aside from being a rare carbonaceous chondrite fall, and the orbit being known, it's special because it was recovered just a few hours after the fall meaning it was close to pristine/uncontaminated and comparable to materials returned by space missions. That effectively puts it in a class of it's own.

I'm almost tempted to buy a piece. There are some for sale here, but small and not cheap. I have not bought from them before.

Can anyone recommend a trustworthy site here in the UK to buy meteorites from?

 

[John]

21 hours ago, Leo S said:

Can anyone recommend a trustworthy site here in the UK to buy meteorites from?

 

David Bryant runs Space Rocks UK and is a noted authority. Good speaker as well !:

David Bryant's Space Rocks UK! Meteorites for sale. Buy meteorites, sikhote alin, canyon diablo, barwell, tektites, moldavites, pallasites, impactites from Great Britain's Number 1

First Light Optics have some for sale which are from reputable sources:

Astronomy Telescope Meteorites for Sale Online | First Light Optics

I've purchased a few specimens from Martin Goff at MSG Meteorites:

Meteorites rocks from space comets and asteroids | Msg-Meteorites

 

 

[Leo S]

On 11/07/2023 at 17:29, John said:

David Bryant runs Space Rocks UK and is a noted authority. Good speaker as well !:

David Bryant's Space Rocks UK! Meteorites for sale. Buy meteorites, sikhote alin, canyon diablo, barwell, tektites, moldavites, pallasites, impactites from Great Britain's Number 1

First Light Optics have some for sale which are from reputable sources:

Astronomy Telescope Meteorites for Sale Online | First Light Optics

I've purchased a few specimens from Martin Goff at MSG Meteorites:

Meteorites rocks from space comets and asteroids | Msg-Meteorites

 

 

Thanks John. Someone else on another forum also recommended MSG Meteorites So I'll be keeping a close eye on them especially.