Sikhote-Alin, 1947
The largest iron meteorite fall ever witnessed.
Key facts
- When
- 12 February 1947, about 10.38 in the morning local time
- Where
- Sikhote-Alin mountains, Primorye, Russian Far East, Russia
- What hit
- an iron meteoroid of perhaps 70 to 100 tonnes before it entered the air
- Era
- Witnessed, 1908 to 1999
- Location
- 46.16° N, 134.65° E
Probably around 10 kilotons of TNT, most released high in the air as it broke up.
Somewhat less than the Hiroshima bomb, but it delivered tens of tonnes of iron to the ground.
What happened
On a clear winter morning in 1947, people in the Russian Far East saw a fireball brighter than the sun streak across the sky, leaving a smoke trail that hung for hours. It broke apart above the mountains, and a rain of iron fell over a strewn field about 1 km² in area.
Scientists led by Vasily Fesenkov and Evgeny Krinov reached the site soon after. They found more than 100 craters and pits, the largest about 26 m across, and many trees shattered by falling iron. Over the years about 23 tonnes of meteorites have been recovered, the largest piece weighing 1,745 kg.
Sikhote-Alin is a coarse octahedrite of group IIAB. Its fragments come in two kinds: sculpted, thumbprinted individuals that broke away high up, and jagged, torn shrapnel from pieces that shattered on impact.
Effects
The fall was seen and heard over hundreds of kilometres. Craters were blasted into the frozen ground, and some trees were snapped off by fragments. No one was hurt.
The evidence
The meteorites themselves, the craters, and many eyewitness accounts and paintings, including one by the artist Pyotr Medvedev, who saw the fireball.
Did you know?
The Soviet Union issued a postage stamp showing Medvedev's painting of the fireball in 1957, the tenth anniversary of the fall.
Sikhote-Alin shrapnel and individuals are among the most collected meteorites in the world.
Related pages
How is impact energy measured? See energy explained, or try the impact calculator.