On 12 June at around 11:00 PM, a bright fireball was observed near the West Autobahn between St. Pölten and Melk over Lower Austria. The Natural History Museum Vienna (NHM) is now calling on the public to keep an eye out for any fragments of the meteorite swarm. Pieces—likely no larger than an apricot—are thought to have landed between the villages of Inning and Haindorf, the NHM told APA.
The descending meteor was recorded by cameras of the European Fireball Network, which captured the glow it produced in the atmosphere. Using these images, Czech researchers have calculated in recent days the search area where fragments are most likely to be found.
Tips for Recovering Suspected Meteorites
If you find a suspicious rock, look for its characteristic black fusion crust, says Andrea Patzer, curator of the NHM’s meteorite collection. A true fragment will show a clear contrast between its dark exterior and lighter interior. Such pieces are often unusually heavy for their size—especially if they are iron meteorites.
Experts advise first photographing the find from multiple angles and recording the location with GPS coordinates. Note the date, time, and any unusual observations. Then, if possible, wrap the specimen in aluminum foil or a plastic bag. Patzer asks that anyone who makes a find send photos and details to andrea.patzer@nhm.at.
Recent Addition to the NHM “Austria Cabinet”
About 100 tonnes of extraterrestrial material fall to Earth daily, mostly as dust. As objects enter the atmosphere, their surfaces heat up and ionize surrounding air molecules, creating the glowing trails we call meteors. Larger fireballs are caused by bigger fragments. With over 10,300 specimens, the NHM hosts one of the world’s largest meteorite collections.
Meteorite finds in Austria are rare. The most recent addition to the NHM’s “Austria Cabinet” is a fragment of the so-called Haag meteorite, which fell—also in Lower Austria near the West Autobahn—on 24 October last year at around 9:30 PM. A local family later recovered pieces that first struck their house roof and then landed in their driveway. This makes it Austria’s first “hammerstone” find, a term for meteorites that impact man-made structures.
