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Description
This is one of several thousand fragments of a meteorite which fell to Earth on February 12, 1947, at Sikhote-Alin, northeast of Vladivostok, Russia. The fall was observed as a bright light in the sky accompanied by a deafening noise.
As the meteorite entered the atmosphere, at a speed of about 14 km\s, it began to break apart. Some fragments of the meteorite made craters, the largest of which was about 26m across and 6m deep.
Why is this meteorite made of Metal?
Radioactive isotopes in the early solar system created enough heat within large asteroids to melt and differentiate them into a core, a mantle and a crust. This meteorite is the core of an asteroid. It is made of the same materials as the Earth’s core. After the asteroid had differentiated it was smashed to pieces by an asteroid impact, and this fragment of its core headed off in the direction of Earth.
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