Country:
Morocco
State/District:
Guelmim-Es-Semara
Date of fall/find:
Fell 2014, July 9
Total known weight:
8 kg
Number of pieces:
many
Type:
Achondrite (Eucrite, unbrecciated)
Shock stage: low
Weathering stage: None
Meteoritical Bulletin record: Click here
On Wednesday, 9 July 2014 around 9:30 pm, residents of Tirhert, Foum El Hisn, Douar Imougadir and nearby villages in southern Morocco, witnessed an intense fireball moving horizontally in a NW to SE direction and lasting about 4 s, shortly followed by multiple sonic booms. The fireball was seen by people from cities and villages more than 220 km around the fall site near Tirhert. Immediately following the fireball event the mayor and the authorities of the area organized a field search with police to check for possible security problems. The first meteorites were recovered the following day close to the road between Foum El Hisn and Assa. Thousands of people moved to the site from surrounding cities and villages to search, but many soon left because of the difficulties of searching during the hot 50°C daytime temperatures. The positions of many of the pieces were recorded from eyewitness testimonials, forming a roughly 6 × 3 km strewnfield trending NW to SE. The largest recorded mass around 1300 g was collected close to Tirhert at the coordinates listed for this entry. Recovered pieces weighed from 1 to 1300 g, with an estimated total mass of 8 to 10 kg. Most pieces are covered by a very shiny, black fusion crust.