The Almahata Sitta strewn field
The first asteroid spotted in space before it hit Earth, and the first strewn field searched along a track predicted in advance.
Key facts
- Fell
- 7 October 2008, 2.46 in the morning (UTC)
- Where
- Nubian Desert, northern Sudan
- Recovered
- about 10 kilograms in some 600 fragments
- Field
- a strip about 30 kilometres long along the asteroid's ground track
- Type
- Polymict ureilite and other types
The fall
The asteroid 2008 TC3, a few metres across, was discovered about 20 hours before it struck. It exploded about 37 kilometres above the desert, exactly where astronomers had predicted.
The ellipse
Because the asteroid's path was known precisely, searchers could walk the predicted ground track. Fragments were found along a strip about 30 kilometres long, a remarkably close match to the calculations.
Where the big and small pieces landed
Teams of students and staff from the University of Khartoum, working with astronomers, walked in long lines across the sand and found about 600 fragments weighing about 10 kilograms in total. Most were small. The heavier fragments lay further along the track in the direction of travel. The fragments turned out to be many different meteorite types, showing that the asteroid was a jumble of pieces from several parent bodies.
The law
We know of no Sudanese law written for meteorites. The searches were organised by the University of Khartoum, and samples were shared with institutions around the world for research.
The full story of Almahata Sitta
Related pages
Glossary: Strewn field, Strewn field map, Fusion crust, Meteorite ownership