FMNH Collection Data:
Classification: Iron, ungrouped
Specimen number: FMNH ME 5234
Specimen mass: 530.14 gram
Donation from Mr. Terry Boudreaux
Private meteorite collector and Collections & Research Committee member Terry Boudreaux donated to the Field Museum two specimens of the iron meteorite Gebel Kamil that formed a 45-m-wide impact crater in the southwestern corner of Egypt (East Uweinat Desert) near the Sudanese and Lybian border. The crater was discovered through Google Earth in 2009 on a Cretaceous sandstone surface; the impact occurred less than 5,000 years ago.
The first meteorites were recovered in February. This exciting discovery was reported by the Italian-Egyptian group in the journal Science in August 2010. This first investigation indicates that the impactor did not suffer much during atmospheric entry and hit Earth almost fully intact. There are only about 200 confirmed impact structures on Earth.
Image/animation: © 2011 The Field Museum.
Sources: Meteoritical Bulletin Database and Grady, M. M., Catalogue of Meteorites, 5th edition.