Universities collaborate to uncover rare meteorite in Eastern Cape

The discovery of the ‘Nqweba Meteorite’ represents a significant opportunity for South African scientists to study a rare specimen from space.

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The main mass of the Nqweba meteorite showing the black fusion crust and brecciated interior (light grey) with broken mineral and rock fragments. Photo: Wits University.

A significant meteorite fall in the Eastern Cape 10 days ago sparked a collaborative scientific investigation involving several universities.

The event, witnessed by residents across a vast area, has led to the recovery of a rare meteorite fragment, provisionally named the ‘Nqweba Meteorite’ after the town in which it was discovered.

At 08:51 on August 25, residents in the Garden Route and Karoo and others in the Western Cape and Free State observed a bright blue-white and orange streak of light in the sky. The meteorite, after splitting into several smaller fragments, disappeared from view. Shortly after, witnesses reported hearing loud explosions and sensing vibrations.

 

 

Nine-year-old finds warm meteorite

Nine-year-old Eli-zé du Toit, while sitting on her grandparents’ porch in Nqweba (formerly Kirkwood), saw a dark rock fall from the sky and land near a Wild Fig tree in the garden. The rock – black and shiny on the outside with a light grey, concrete-like interior – was still warm when she picked it up.

 

Eli-zé du Toit (9) proudly looks at the Nqweba meteorite that she picked up immediately after it fell in her grandparents’ yard in Nqweba in the Eastern Cape. Photo: Wits University.

 

Dr Deon van Niekerk of Rhodes University obtained a permit from the Eastern Cape Provincial Heritage Resources Authority to recover all fragments from the meteor for scientific analysis.

On learning of the meteorite’s discovery, Dr Carla Dodd of Nelson Mandela University quickly secured the sample collected by Eli-zé, recognising the rarity and importance of the find.

Prof Roger Gibson of the University of the Witwatersrand says: “Our response time was going to be critical if we were going to collect valuable scientific data and meteorite fragments, and explain to the public that this was a natural event and how the individual parts linked together.”

“Events such as these are incredible and are very exciting, both for the public who witness these falls and the scientists who gain invaluable information from studying the bolides and rocks,” says Dr Leonidas Vonopartis of Wits University.

 

The main sample weighs less than 90g and is less than 5cm in diameter in size. Photo: Wits University.

 

The Nqweba Meteorite

According to a statement issued by Nelson Mandela University, the Nqweba Meteorite is believed to be an achondritic meteorite (a stony meteorite that does not contain chondrules), specifically a rare type within the Howardite-Eucrite-Diogenite group.

It weighs less than 90g and has a pre-fragmentation diameter of less than 5cm.

“The specimens have a dark black glassy coating (fusion crust) with a light grey interior, peppered with dark-green and light-green grains and clasts.

“Such meteorites provide valuable insights into the inner workings of other planetary bodies, offering scientists a glimpse into processes similar to those that formed Earth’s rocks,” the statement reads.

Collaborative effort

The investigation into the Nqweba Meteorite involves a co-ordinated effort between scientists from Nelson Mandela, Rhodes and Wits universities.

In the coming weeks, a joint team of researchers and astronomers affiliated with the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa will collect data from official observatories and eyewitness accounts to piece together the details of the event. They will do extensive searches for further meteorite fragments over a wide area of rugged terrain.

“We are grateful that Eli-zé’s family immediately thought to contact us at Mandela University’s Geosciences Department upon making this rare find, effectively setting off this collaborative effort to study the meteorite and preserve it as part of the Eastern Cape heritage,” says Dodd.

What’s next?

The initial scientific focus will involve microscopic and geochemical analysis of the recovered meteorite fragment to fully classify it and understand its origin.

The investigation could provide insights into the meteorite’s source region in space and possibly identify its parent body.

 

MC Fereira, Zoë van der Merwe and Stephen Sharp tell of their experience when they saw the meteor light streak (bolide) crossing the sky. The trio of teenagers were relaxing on the dunes in Cape St Francis when the meteor entered Earth’s atmosphere. Photo: Wits University.

 

 

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