Iron, coarsest octahedrite – IIAB ; Maritime Territory, Siberia, Russia (46°9’ N, 134°39’ E)

Last year was the 75^th Anniversary of one of the largest meteorite showers of the last several thousand years. This is a meteorite from that event. Upon slamming into Earth’s atmosphere the asteroid from which this came began to break apart, creating a fireball brighter than the Sun as it sailed over the Sikhote-Alin Mountains in Siberia. A 33-kilometer-long smoke trail persisted in the sky for several hours, and many of the resulting meteorites produced impact craters as large as 26 meters — with nearly 200 craters having been catalogued. With an explosive yield estimated to rival that of an atomic bomb, had this event occurred over a populated area, the result would have been devastating. Similar to lots 46 and 52.

This meteorite is blanketed with vibrant peaks, folds and scores of regmaglypts (the thumbprint-like indentations produced during the meteorite’s fiery plunge through the upper atmosphere). The flat facing seen indicates where this meteorite ripped apart from another mass along crystalline planes. A single deep socket almost penetrates the entire mass. This is the quintessence of what a fresh iron meteorite looks like. With a charcoal-to-gunmetal patina, this is an engaging example of an extraordinary event: one of the biggest meteorite showers in modern times. Accompanied by a magnetic armature which permits the orientation of this meteorite however you desire.

Christie's would like to thank Dr. Alan E. Rubin at the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles for his assistance in preparing this catalogue.


79 x 39 x 41mm (3 x 1.5 x 1.66 in.) and 211.7 grams (0.5 lbs)