Iron, ataxite (ungrouped)Ryazan district, Russia (54° 44' N, 41° 25' E)

First discovered by a mushroom hunter in 2000, specimens of the Dronino meteorite shower are part of the rare “ungrouped” population of iron meteorites. While 89% of iron meteorites are members of established chemical groups, the other 11% are chemically unrelated to other specimens. Dronino is one of these exotic, ungrouped irons. There is no meteorite that is chemically similar to Dronino, which implies it originated from a previously unknown parent asteroid.
The mushroom hunter discovered the first mass approximately 20 kilometers from an ancient town founded in 1152. As there is no historical record of what would have been an extremely memorable event of a fireball accompanied by sonic booms and smoke trails, it can be inferred Dronino‘s arrival occurred when the area was unpopulated. And, given the extent of terrestrial sculpting, a descent to Earth more than a millennium ago can be confidently fixed.
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