DISCOVERED NORTHERN TERRITORY, AUSTRALIA, 1931; MODERN CUTTING

Henbury is a member of the largest chemical group (IIIAB) of iron meteorites. It crystallized 4.5 billion years ago within the metal core of a differentiated asteroid. The asteroid was shattered by a major collision about 675 million years ago. After traversing interplanetary space for millions of years, the iron mass fell in Northern Territory, Australia about 4,200 years ago creating a field of 10 explosion craters (up to 130 meters across and 15 meters deep) and three shallow impact holes (up to 17 meters across). This field of craters is considered a sacred site to the Arrernte Aboriginal people whose elders would not camp near the craters nor drink the rainwater that collected there, referring to them as "chindu china waru chingi yabu", roughly translating to "sun walk fire devil rock". Although the craters were discovered in 1899 (by the manager of a nearby cattle station), the first meteorites were not identified until 1931.

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