Jilin City Meteorite Museum

Home of the 1,770-kilogram main stone of the Jilin shower, the largest stony meteorite ever seen to fall.

Key facts

Where

Jilin, China

Kind

Museum

Visiting

Public galleries

On the afternoon of 8 March 1976 a huge fireball broke up over Jilin province in north-east China, and a shower of stones fell over an area of hundreds of square kilometres. More than a hundred pieces were collected, totalling about four tonnes.

The largest, Jilin No. 1, weighs about 1,770 kilograms. It punched through frozen ground and made a pit about 6 metres deep. It is the largest stony meteorite ever seen to fall, and it is the centrepiece of a museum in Jilin city built around the fall. Jilin is an H5 ordinary chondrite.

Highlights

• Jilin main stone, about 1,770 kg H5

Related pages

Opening times, what is on display and access to research collections change over time, so check with the institution before you visit.