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Sweden geologists find 30cm meteorite rock

Steffen TrumpfAAP
Many people reported seeing a fireball fall to earth near the Swedish town of Enkoping in November.
Camera IconMany people reported seeing a fireball fall to earth near the Swedish town of Enkoping in November.

Two Swedish geologists have discovered a meteorite weighing almost 14 kilograms near the town of Enkoping - one that many people say they saw fall to earth last year - the Swedish Royal Museum of Natural History says.

The rock is purportedly the main piece of a meteorite impact that was observed on November 7, the museum said in a statement.

This is the first time in more than 60 years that a meteorite has been found in Sweden after its fall was observed.

Countless people in Sweden had reported seeing a fireball that lit up the sky for about three seconds on November 7.

Astronomer Eric Stempels of the University of Uppsala afterwards calculated the approximate impact location, which lies northwest of Stockholm, where smaller fragments were later found.

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The now discovered main piece is about 30 centimetres long and probably constitutes the largest fragment of the meteorite, which, according to Stempels, weighed around 9 tonnes when it entered the atmosphere.

Smaller fragments could still be lying around the area of the impact site.

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