Copyright - M.Bandli - Historic Meteorites
Mezö-Madaras
Harghita, Romania
Fell September 24, 1852 - L3.7 Brecciated Chondrite
Collection No. B194.1 - A 20.9 gram fusion crusted corner cut.
Provenance: The United States National Museum (USNM); by transfer to The Dr. Jay Piatek Collection.
Historical Notes: On April 9, 1852, at approximately 16:30 hours, a large fireball was witnessed following a SW-NE trajectory. The fireball was accompanied by thunder-like detonations and people near Isten Lake heard "whizzing noises" and actually witnessed the stones falling from the sky.
Aside from being one of the most beautiful, chondrule-laden L3s ever recovered, Mezö-Madaras also contains carbon-bearing lumps and may represent a new specimen of C-rich chondrites. Locked within these black carbon-bearing inclusions are microchondrules ranging from 2 -150 microns. Pre-solar nano-diamonds have also been found in this meteorite.
Below: original USNM baggy and label. Bottom: detail of fusion crust.
