New paper out: Dishchii’bikoh in MAPS

A new meteorite with an orbit has been published in Meteoritics & Planetary Science (MAPS): Dishchii’bikoh. It is a rare LL7 chondrite which fell near the city of Cibecue in Arizona / USA, and takes its name as pronounced in the language of the local White Mountain Apache tribe. Several fragments of almost 80 g total mass were recovered using the weather radar footprint of the fall. The orbit of the meteorite is remarkable for being relatively short (1.13 AU semi-major axis) and steeply inclined (ca. 21° to the ecliptic). Radionuclides suggest it was a relatively large meteoroid, at R = 60-100 cm. The cosmic-ray exposure age is quite typical for an ordinary chondrite, at 11 Ma. It seems likely the meteorite derived from the Flora family of asteroids in the inner asteroid belt, similar to other recent LL chondrite falls, like Stubenberg (2016) and Chelyabinsk (2013).

Full disclosure: I am a co-author on the paper. /m4

Novo Mesto* – a new meteorite linked to a bright fireball

novo mesto meteorite
The Novo Mesto* meteorite. (Photo: Bojan Ambrožič / bojanambrozic.com)

In the morning of February 28th, a bright daytime fireball was observed over Slovenia. Now, a fresh, fusion-encrusted meteorite (ca. 200 g), looking like an equilibrated chondrite, has been found in the region where the fragments from the fireball were expected to drop. On March 7th, it was found and reported by Gregor Kos in the driveway of his house, and later confirmed to be a meteorite by Bojan Ambrozic. Later that same day, the meteorite was handed over to the Natural History Museum of Slovenia. The prospective name of the meteorite (not yet approved by the Meteoritical Society, which is why I provide the name with an asterisk) is Novo Mesto*.

Obviously, this is an excellent candidate for a meteorite which will have an associated orbit. /m4