Meteorite Goba (Hoba) - the largest in the world

"Space gifts" fall to the ground quite often. They come in different sizes, but mostly they are small fragments, in which it is not easy to recognize an unearthly origin. Astronomers even managed to calculate that in the course of the year almost 100,000 tons of meteoritic substances fall on the Earth. However, space giants are occasionally encountered among them. One of such cosmic bodies is Goba - the largest of the meteorites found.

Why meteorites are rare

Many people have the question: "Why do meteorites come across so rarely?" Indeed, 100 thousand tons every year - a figure rather big, but usually meteorite fragments weigh several kilograms, and sometimes even grams. Not everyone can understand that under his feet is not just a pebble, but a space alien. The small size of meteorites is due to the fact that when entering the Earth's atmosphere, the space body warms up and lights up. The process of ablation begins, as a result of which the mass of the object is significantly reduced. Most of the celestial shells to the earth's surface does not reach at all. By the way, ablation is when particles of matter are carried away from the surface of solids by a stream of hot gas or by radiation.

How was the largest meteorite on the planet discovered?

Evidence of how the largest meteorite Goba fell to Earth, no longer found. The fact is that it happened in prehistoric times, when the primitive man did not know writing. But there was found a huge "heavenly stone" in the most banal way. During the plowing of his plot of savanna, an African farmer from Namibia hooked something very large with a plow. After clearing the plot, the farmer realized that it was simply impossible to move the monster from its place. Strange body attracted the attention of scientists who confirmed his extraterrestrial origin. They gave the find the same name as the farm, where it was found - Hoba West Farm. This event took place in 1920.

The farmer, who made a unique discovery, was called Jacobs Brits. He came to Namibia from Britain. A unique find gave him the opportunity to enrich himself by selling a meteorite in parts for souvenirs or for other purposes. But he considered such actions wrong and refused attractive offers. The farmer presented his find to the government of Namibia, not immediately, of course, but gave it.

The weight and dimensions of the largest meteorite

Scientists did not manage to weigh the meteorite. They made calculations and found that, upon detection, the meteorite weighed about 66 tons. In addition, a theory was put forward that at the time of the fall to Earth, about 80 thousand years ago, the weight of this body was within 90 tons. But today you can see Gob's 60-ton meteorite, as erosion, sawing off parts for research and vandalism of tourists significantly reduced his weight.

The size of the meteorite Goba today is 2.7 x 2.7 x 0.9 m. Its volume is 9 m³.

Composition of meteorite

From numerous studies, scientists managed to get an idea of the composition of the "newcomer". It is officially announced that the meteorite of Goba (Namibia, 1920) consists of 84% iron, 15% nickel with cobalt impurities. About 1% falls on the admixture of other elements. The upper layer consists of iron hydroxide. The crystalline structure is defined as a nickel-containing ataxite.

Thus, the Gob meteorite is attributed to iron. For reference, we add that according to classification, meteorites are divided into 3 types, based on their composition:

1. Meteorites from mineral materials are called stone.
2. Meteorites from metals are called siderites or iron.
3. "Aliens" of mixed materials are called iron-stone.

Classification helps to group samples according to common origin. A meteorite substance can be part of a planet, an asteroid or a satellite, any object of the solar system that exists at the moment or existed in the past. But this classification is not yet final, it can and will expand.

Mysteries of Goba: where is the crater?

A huge meteorite threw scientists a whole series of riddles. One of them is the absence of a crater. For some reason, the space visitor landed so softly that he was able to keep his shape and not fly into a pile of shards. The catastrophe did not occur during the fall, and the crater did not remain. Although a small crater could appear, and then collapse over time. It is possible that the fall occurred at a very small angle.

Another mystery is the unique shape

The Goba meteorite has a very unusual shape. A huge block looks like an almost regular parallelepiped. Fragments of objects of the solar system of this form fell on the Earth extremely rarely, and they were much smaller than the giant Goby.

Scientists are surprised not only by the shape, but also by the external texture of the surface of the meteorite. The alien is smooth, and its surface is almost flat. Initially, the color of the cosmic body was blue and black, but the Earth's atmosphere contains carbon dioxide, and the native iron, from which the meteorite consists, turned red.

Invasion of tourists

As soon as it became known where the Gob meteorite is located, the pilgrimage of tourists began on the fields of Jacobs Brits. They trampled the crops and chopped pieces into memory. It was difficult to live and work on the farm, and the farmer began to ask the government to guard. Several decades passed, while the government of Namibia decided to listen to the requests of the farmer. Meteorite Goba was proclaimed a national monument only in 1955. True, tourists ignored the government's ban and continued to break souvenirs.

The appearance of the tourist center

The final transfer of farm land "Goba-West" and the meteorite itself occurred in 1988. Three years before this event, Rossing Uranium Ltd. Put the guard around the meteorite from its own resources. And the destruction of the stranger was stopped. After the transfer of land around the tourist center was organized. Its territory is fenced, and entrance fee is taken. The money goes to the improvement of the center. So to approach a meteorite and take a picture against it is now worth the money.

The center itself is similar to the botanical garden. Here are planted various trees, posted information signs. From all sides clean paths meet to the center, and in the middle there is a three-tiered open amphitheater and steps leading to the "originator of the celebration." By equipping the tourist center, the authorities understood that people would go there only for the sake of the Goba meteor, so they did not strongly zealous, ennobling the surrounding panorama. Some information signs contain not so much important information as humor. On one of them is written in several languages: "Beware of falling meteorites".

In fact, the tourist center around the meteorite could not be. The fact is that in 1954 this stone of cosmic origin wanted to buy out the Natural History Museum of New York. A huge amount of money was allocated for this, but the workers of the museum faced an impossible task: to raise and transport a unique object for a long distance. Find a solution to this problem and could not, so the idea of buying the museum refused.

Double Champion

Goba's meteorite can be considered a double record holder. First, as mentioned earlier, this is the largest celestial object found on Earth. In fact, this space object is the largest native piece of iron on the planet. Secondly, it has never been moved. About 80 thousand years, the heavenly messenger lies exactly where he fell.