Falling Rocks
We purchase meteorite collections and meteorites for sale
COLLECTION
Meteorite Name: Zunhua
Location: Hebei Province, China
Classification: Ordinary Chondrite (in classification)
Witnessed Fall: Yes
Date and Time: April 12, 2008
TKW: ~ 4 kilograms
Remarks:
Remarks: At 4:50 pm, a bright fireball was witnessed near Zunhua city in China. A single stone of approximately 4 kilograms crashed first through the clay tile roof then through the plastered bamboo ceiling of a farmhouse near the Royal tombs of the Qing Dynasty. The meteorite shattered upon impact with the interior stone floor and fragments were strewn about the room, damaging a window, a mirror and a wooden bed frame in the process. The resident homeowner, upon hearing the shocking sound of impact from another room in the house, ran to the impact site to find a dust-filled room with fragments that looked like concrete all over the floor. She contacted the police, who by then were already receiving reports of the witnessed fireball. They arrived, took many pieces themselves and contacted Chinese government scientists who took nearly all of the meteorite fragments with them and asked the lady to protect the damaged section of her roof. She kept some of the fragments and sold some to a few people who had come to see the damage. According to Michael Blood, this story dominated Chinese news in both television and print media. No other specimens have been reported, and this is an incredibly difficult fall from which to acquire a quality specimen. More information about Zunhua can be found in this brief document by Ma Lan.
   
Collection Photos
 
120.3 gram crusted and broken end section
120.3 gram crusted and broken end section
 
120.3 gram specimen (alternate angle)
120.3 gram specimen (alternate angle)
 
120.3 gram specimen (crust detail, including marks from passage through the roof)
120.3 gram specimen (crust detail, including marks from passage through the roof)
 
120.3 gram specimen (interior detail)
120.3 gram specimen (interior detail)
 
Entry hole in the farm house's clay tile roof
Entry hole in the farm house's clay tile roof
 
The Chinese homeowner, with entry hole in background
The Chinese homeowner, with entry hole in background
 
Detail of entry hole from inside the house
Detail of entry hole from inside the house
 
Entry hole from outside the house
Entry hole from outside the house
 

<< Back to top