GIANT METEORITES

Compiled by Chilman Sahni

About 500 meteorites reach Earth every year. Many fall in the sea and in unpopulated areas and are never seen. The Hoba meteorite, the largest in the world, was found in Namibia in 1920. It measures 2.73×2.43m and is 82% iron and 16% nickel. It weighs more than 60 tonnes. Second largest is the Tent, found in Greenland in 1894 and now known by its original Eskimo name, Ahnighito. This meteorite weighs about 57.3 tonnes and is on display in the New York Museum of Natural History.

THE LARGEST METEORITE CRATERS

Many astroblemes or collision sites on Earth have been altered by weather over millions of years. Scientists are not always certain whether crater-like structures were caused by meteorites or are the craters of extinct volcanoes. Those listed below are all agreed to be meteorite craters, but new evidence based on photographs from space may reveal other even larger ones.

          CRATER/LOCATION                                                                      DIAMETER (km)

1. Vredefort, South Africa                                                            300km
2. Sudbury, Ontario, Canada                                                        250km
3. Chicxulub , Yucatan, Mexico                                                   170km
4. Manicougan, Canada                                                                100km
5. Popigai , Russia                                                                          100km

ULURU

The rock formerly known as Ayers Rock. Northern Territory, Australia, is believed to be the world’s largest free-standing rock. It is made of sandstone and measures 335m high, 3.6km long and 2km wide. It was originally called after South Australian premier Sir Henry Ayers, but it is now known by the name given to it by local Aborigines, to whom it is sacred.

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