Serra Pelada (meteorite)

Coordinates: 05°57′08″S 49°39′14″W / 5.95222°S 49.65389°W / -5.95222; -49.65389
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Serra Pelada
ClassEucrite
Shock stageModerate
Weathering gradeW0
CountryBrazil
RegionPará
Coordinates05°57′08″S 49°39′14″W / 5.95222°S 49.65389°W / -5.95222; -49.65389
Observed fallYes
Fall dateJune 19, 2010
TKW12 kg

Serra Pelada meteorite is a meteorite found in Curionópolis, in the state of the Pará, Brazil. Its fall was observed on June 29, 2017, by people in Eldorado dos Carajás, Marabá and Parauapebas.[1] Many students and a lookout, Manuel da Silva, of the Escola Rita Lima de Souza, heard a series of four to 6 detonations and a few minutes later witnessed a rock falling on the road near the school.[2][3]

Overview[edit]

Studies by researchers from Bahia, Pará, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo indicated that it was a rare type of meteorite, which must have come off one of the largest and brightest asteroids in the Solar System, 4 Vesta. The meteorite of 12 kilograms (26 lb) is essentially a basaltic rock, consisting mainly of two minerals, feldspar and silicates, known as pyroxenes, in addition to quartz and apatite, in smaller proportions.[1]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Um meteorito em Serra Pelada". Revista Pesquisa (in Portuguese). FAPESP. July 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  2. ^ "Meteorito cai próximo de escola em Serra Pelada e deixa comunidade alarmada" (in Portuguese). Correio de Carajás. July 21, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  3. ^ "Meteorito 'raríssimo' cai no Brasil e vira objeto de estudo de cientistas". G1 (in Portuguese). Grupo Globo. August 1, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2018.

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