The family, who do not want to be named, found 300g of the meteorite, which survived its passage through Earth’s atmosphere and landed on their driveway in the small town of Cotswold. and Winchcombe.
Dr. Richard Greenwood, Researcher in Planning Sciences at the Open University, was the first scientist to identify and advise on the meteorite.
He said: “I was shocked to see it and immediately knew it was a rare meteorite and a completely special event. It is emotional to be the first to prove it to the people who they stand in front of you that what they heard on their driveway overnight is indeed the real thing. “
Meteorites, seen as fireballs in the sky, are now easier to detect because of a group of scientists called the UK Fire Brigade.
They were able to use citizen science videos of the fireball, as well as their own special cameras, to identify the area where the meter appears to have come in, and to warn the local community to looking for cookies.
More meteorite fragments have now been found in the Cotswolds since the road was discovered.
This meteorite is a rare find; there are about 65 thousand known meteorites on Earth. Of these, only 51 are carbonaceous chondrites. It is the first known carbonaceous chondrite found in the UK, and the first recovered meteorite in the UK in 30 years. The last meteorite found in the UK was the Glatton meteorite which landed in a residential garden in 1991.
It is believed that more than 1000 football-sized meteorites fall to Earth each year, but it is very rare to see any of them fall and get over it.
Carbonaceous chondrites are known as the most primitive and precious materials in the solar system and can provide unparalleled information on where water and the building blocks are formed and what planets are made of – some of the most asked questions of the scientific community.
Dr Luke Daly from the University of Glasgow leads the UK Fire Brigade Network.
He said: “As a result of this international collaboration, involving researchers as far afield as Australia, we have been able to work out the origins of the meteorite. this so fast and so sure, and also where it came from in the asteroid belt, a rare thing. that can be said of just about 40 of the 65,000 meteorites on Earth. Good intentions and teamwork have produced outstanding results. “
The team believe that more fragments may still be found, and have urged people in the Cotswolds to look out for black stones or piles of tiny rocks.
The rocks are very fragile so locals are urged to photograph it and record its location, before carefully collecting the sample using a glue or aluminum foil hand and contact. Natural History Museum.