Homestead (meteorite)
{{Short description|Meteorite found in the United States}}
{{Infobox meteorite
|Name= Homestead
|Image= Homestead meteorite.jpg
|Image_caption= 20.4 g partial slice taken from the 450 g fragment that resided in the AMNH for over a century
|Type= Chondrite
|Class= Ordinary chondrite
|Group= L5
|Structural_classification=
|Composition=
|Shock=
|Weathering=
|Country= United States
|Region= Iowa
|Lat_Long= {{coord|41|48|N|91|52|W|display=inline,title}}{{metbull|11901|Homestead}}
|Observed_fall= Yes
|Fall_date= 1875-02-12
|Found_date=
|TKW= 230 kg
|Strewn_field = Yes
|Alternative names=Amana, Iowa County
}}
Homestead is a L5 meteorite fallen on 12 February 1875 in Iowa, United States, first described by Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs.
Sometimes called the Amana meteorite because of the nearby Amana colonies it was called the Homestead meteorite, because Homestead, Iowa was the nearest train station. The Amana meteorites also include a large meteorite fallen in May 1879.
History
On the evening of 12 February 1875 above Iowa a brilliant fireball was observed. It produced a variety of rumbling sounds and detonations, which shook houses "as if moved by an earthquake".{{Cite news |last=Paul Brennan |date=2025-02-04 |title=Souvenirs from Outer space .Little Village issue 337: February 2025 |url=https://littlevillagemag.com/lv-february-2025/ |access-date=2025-02-21 |language=en-US}}
About 100 meteorite fragments fell over a {{convert|18|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} snowy countryside area from Amana to Boltonville in Iowa County.
The first found fragment, a stone weighing about {{convert|3.5|kg|lb}}, was discovered by Sarah Sherlock {{convert|3|km|mi}} south of Homestead.Paul Garvin, Iowa's minerals: their occurrence, origins, industries, and lore. University of Iowa Press, 1998. [https://books.google.com/books?id=3a1XkpBGdAcC&pg=PA187&lpg=PA187&dq=SherlockPage 187] The area was wooded and covered by snow, impeding recovery efforts. On 10 February a {{convert|40|cm|in}} snowfall blanketed the ground, preventing the great majority of the fragments from being discovered until spring. The {{convert|74|lb|kg}} main mass was found along with a {{convert|48|lb|kg}} fragment buried {{convert|2|ft|m}} in the soil.
The meteorite made international news. Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs, a natural scientist from the University of Iowa reported about it in Popular Science Monthly in 1875.
As of December 2011, approximately {{convert|230|kg|lb}} has been found.{{cn|date=February 2025}}
The meteorite has brought "a small fortune" to the Amana area, as pieces were sold for a day s wage per pound at the time and added to collections in the US and Europe.
=1879=
The Amana meteorites also include a large meteorite fallen in Estherville, Iowa on May 10, 1879. Its largest piece weighed 437 pounds and buried 14 feet deep into a farm field. It is the largest witnessed meteorite in North America. The largest piece can be visited at the Estherville Meteorite Center, in downtown Estherville.{{Cite web |last=Chrysa |date=2019-09-09 |title=Explore History in Estherville, Iowa! |url=https://thriftyminnesota.com/explore-history-in-estherville/ |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=Thrifty Minnesota |language=en-US}}
File:PSM V07 D609 Iowa township iowa county iowa.jpg|Homestead meteorite strewnfield
File:PSM V07 D609 Iowa county meteorites.jpg|1875 drawing of some fragments
File:Homestead meteorite, crusted edge.jpg|Crusted edge
Composition and classification
It is a L5 type ordinary chondrite. It is also brecciated and veined.{{cn|date=February 2025}}
Notes
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- Ivanova, M. A.; Krot, A. N.; Mitreikina, O. B.; Zinovieva, N. G., "Chromite-rich Inclusions in the Homestead (L5) Chondrite", Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, volume 23, page 585, 03/1992.
See also
External links
{{wikisource|Popular Science Monthly/Volume 7/September 1875/The Great Iowa Meteor|The Great Iowa Meteor}}
{{commons category|Homestead meteorite}}
- [http://www.encyclopedia-of-meteorites.com/meteorite.aspx?id=11901 Encyclopedia of meteorites: Homestead]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110103081654/http://www.historicmeteorites.com/HistoricMeteorites/H-Homestead.html Historic Meteorites: Homestead meteorite, Mark Bostick]
- [https://archive.org/details/amanameteorites00hinrgoog/ The Amana Meteorites] by Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs
{{Meteorites}}
{{Meteorites by name}}