Hraschina meteorite
Encyclopedia
Hraschina is the official name of an iron meteorite
that fell in 1751 near the Hrašćina
village in Hrvatsko Zagorje
, Croatia
. This meteorite is important because it was the first fall of an iron meteorite viewed and reported by a significant number of witnesses, despite its low remaining total known weight
. The Hraschina meteorite also proved that rocks really can "fall from the skies".
, giving an estimate of nearly 1000 square miles (2,590 km²) of area over which the meteorite's sound was audible. Many people taking their Sunday evening walk witnessed the event. Baltazar Adam Krčelić, a clergyman, historian, and a noted chronicler of daily events, who was spending time in the village of Biškupec
, recorded the following:
Iron masses of 39.8 kg and 9 kg fell to the east of Hrašćina and were later recovered. The larger mass penetrated 4 feet 6 inches (1.40 m) into the ground. But there are reports that it went much deeper. The smaller mass was split at the place of the fall and partly used by the local villagers for making nails, while the rest of it was split further in Bratislava
and subsequently lost.
The Zagreb
Catholic chapter sent the meteorites and an official report (the "Protocol of Bishop Klobuczezky and Curate-General Wolfgang Kukuljevic") to the Queen Maria Theresa. The meteorites were deposited in the Treasury in Vienna and then to the Court museum, now the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (Museum of Natural History in Vienna).
On the basis of the Protocol of Bishop Klobuczezky and the fact that these fresh fallen meteorites presented a molten metal crust, in 1794 Ernst Chladni
proposed that meteorites have their origins in outer space. Since meteorites were thought to be of volcanic origin, this was a very controversial statement at the time, but in
1803 was confirmed by Jean Baptiste Biot and was then accepted.
In 1808 Count Alois von Beckh Widmanstätten
discovered the Widmanstätten pattern
s by heating a slab of this meteorite. "Though another scientist, G. Thomson
, had also discovered the texture, Widmanstätten's work was recognized by Carl van Schreibers (then Director of the Vienna Natural History Cabinet) and the term Widmanstätten has been used to describe the texture ever since."
.
Composition: Fe
89%, Ni
10.5%, Ge
89.4 ppm, Ga
74.5 ppm, Ir
13 ppm.
, and a few smaller pieces in other institutions. The largest mass shows evidence of a spirited attack with a hammer-like object.
Iron meteorite
Iron meteorites are meteorites that consist overwhelmingly of nickel-iron alloys. The metal taken from these meteorites is known as meteoric iron and was one of the earliest sources of usable iron available to humans.-Occurrence:...
that fell in 1751 near the Hrašćina
Hrašcina
Hrašćina is a municipality in the Krapina-Zagorje County in Croatia. According to the 2001 census, there are 1,826 inhabitants in the area, absolute majority which are Croats....
village in Hrvatsko Zagorje
Hrvatsko Zagorje
Hrvatsko Zagorje is a region north of Zagreb, Croatia. It comprises the whole area north of Medvednica mountain up to Slovenia in the north and west, and up to the regions of Međimurje and Podravina in the north and east...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. This meteorite is important because it was the first fall of an iron meteorite viewed and reported by a significant number of witnesses, despite its low remaining total known weight
Total known weight
Total known weight , also total known mass, is a term used mainly by dealers and meteorite collectors to indicate the combined weight of all known pieces from a single named meteorite...
. The Hraschina meteorite also proved that rocks really can "fall from the skies".
History
On 26 May 1751, at 18:00, a fireball was seen over Hrašćina and sounds like detonations were heard as far away as VaraždinVaraždin
Varaždin is a city in north Croatia, north of Zagreb on the highway A4. The total population is 47,055, with 38,746 on of the city settlement itself . The centre of Varaždin county is located near the Drava river, at...
, giving an estimate of nearly 1000 square miles (2,590 km²) of area over which the meteorite's sound was audible. Many people taking their Sunday evening walk witnessed the event. Baltazar Adam Krčelić, a clergyman, historian, and a noted chronicler of daily events, who was spending time in the village of Biškupec
Biškupec Zelinski
Biškupec Zelinski is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D3 highway....
, recorded the following:
- "In Biškupec near Varaždin an unusual phenomenon like a small cloud was seen — although it was not a cloud — which became paler and paler, produced an explosive sound and then dispersed. In their ignorance, the common folk thought that the heavens had opened."
Iron masses of 39.8 kg and 9 kg fell to the east of Hrašćina and were later recovered. The larger mass penetrated 4 feet 6 inches (1.40 m) into the ground. But there are reports that it went much deeper. The smaller mass was split at the place of the fall and partly used by the local villagers for making nails, while the rest of it was split further in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
and subsequently lost.
The Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
Catholic chapter sent the meteorites and an official report (the "Protocol of Bishop Klobuczezky and Curate-General Wolfgang Kukuljevic") to the Queen Maria Theresa. The meteorites were deposited in the Treasury in Vienna and then to the Court museum, now the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (Museum of Natural History in Vienna).
On the basis of the Protocol of Bishop Klobuczezky and the fact that these fresh fallen meteorites presented a molten metal crust, in 1794 Ernst Chladni
Ernst Chladni
Ernst Florens Friedrich Chladni was a German physicist and musician. His important works include research on vibrating plates and the calculation of the speed of sound for different gases. For this some call him the "Father of Acoustics"...
proposed that meteorites have their origins in outer space. Since meteorites were thought to be of volcanic origin, this was a very controversial statement at the time, but in
1803 was confirmed by Jean Baptiste Biot and was then accepted.
In 1808 Count Alois von Beckh Widmanstätten
Count Alois von Beckh Widmanstätten
Count Alois von Beckh Widmanstätten was an Austrian printer and scientist. His name is sometimes given as Alois von Beckh-Widmannstätten or Aloys Beck, Edler von Widmannstätten.-Working life:...
discovered the Widmanstätten pattern
Widmanstätten pattern
Widmanstätten patterns, also called Thomson structures, are unique figures of long nickel-iron crystals, found in the octahedrite iron meteorites and some pallasites. They consist of a fine interleaving of kamacite and taenite bands or ribbons called lamellæ...
s by heating a slab of this meteorite. "Though another scientist, G. Thomson
G. Thomson
G. Thomson was an English geologist. He died in Palermo at the early age of 46 years.-Name:His name is indicated only with G. because the full name is unknown. In several secondary sources he is called William Thomson or William Thompson, and sometimes is even confused with Lord Kelvin...
, had also discovered the texture, Widmanstätten's work was recognized by Carl van Schreibers (then Director of the Vienna Natural History Cabinet) and the term Widmanstätten has been used to describe the texture ever since."
Composition and classification
Hraschina is an iron meteorite chemical type IID, structural class medium octahedriteOctahedrite
Octahedrites are a class of iron meteorites within the structural classification. They are the most common class of iron meteorites.They are composed primarily of the nickel-iron alloys: taenite - high nickel content, and kamacite - low nickel content....
.
Composition: Fe
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
89%, Ni
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
10.5%, Ge
Germanium
Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is a lustrous, hard, grayish-white metalloid in the carbon group, chemically similar to its group neighbors tin and silicon. The isolated element is a semiconductor, with an appearance most similar to elemental silicon....
89.4 ppm, Ga
Gallium
Gallium is a chemical element that has the symbol Ga and atomic number 31. Elemental gallium does not occur in nature, but as the gallium salt in trace amounts in bauxite and zinc ores. A soft silvery metallic poor metal, elemental gallium is a brittle solid at low temperatures. As it liquefies...
74.5 ppm, Ir
Iridium
Iridium is the chemical element with atomic number 77, and is represented by the symbol Ir. A very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum family, iridium is the second-densest element and is the most corrosion-resistant metal, even at temperatures as high as 2000 °C...
13 ppm.
Samples distribution
The main mass (39 kg) is conserved at the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien. The second largest mass is a piece of 44 g recently discovered within an old collection. Other pieces are: 20 g at MiN of Berlin, 9.8 g at the Natural History Museum of LondonNatural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
, and a few smaller pieces in other institutions. The largest mass shows evidence of a spirited attack with a hammer-like object.