The Murchison strewn field
A Sunday-morning shower of carbon-rich stones over a country town in Victoria, which became one of the most studied rocks in the world.
Key facts
- Fell
- 28 September 1969, just before 11 in the morning
- Where
- Murchison, Victoria, Australia
- Recovered
- more than 100 kilograms
- Field
- more than 13 square kilometres around the town
- Type
- Carbonaceous chondrite, CM2
The fall
People heard booms and saw a fireball break into pieces above the town, leaving a smoke trail. Stones fell around Murchison, and a 680-gram stone broke through a roof and landed in hay. Many fresh stones smelled of methylated spirits, a sign of their organic chemistry.
The ellipse
The stones landed over an area of more than 13 square kilometres around the town, stretched along the fireball's path. Local residents and scientists from Melbourne collected many within days.
Where the big and small pieces landed
More than 100 kilograms were recovered in many stones. The largest weighed about 7 kilograms, and many were fist-sized or smaller. Because collection was so quick, scientists received fresh material for the amino-acid studies that made Murchison famous.
The law
Victoria has no law claiming meteorites for the state, so finders and landowners kept their stones. Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania do own their meteorites by law, and any Australian meteorite needs clearance before export.
Related pages
Glossary: Strewn field, Strewn field map, Fusion crust, Meteorite ownership