The story about meteorite Moss, Norway

At time 1015 friday 14 july 2006 was cabinowner Ragnar Martinsen on his lavatory when he heard booms and rumblings in the air at direction of the military airstation few kilometer away. That is not uncommon from that place. Five minutes later and on his way out he heard a wistlesound behind him and seconds later a stone crashed into to a sheet of thin under two meters from him. He picked up a fragment of the stone. These should be the start of a fantastic norwegian meteoritefall. The same day Knut Jørgen Røed Ødegaard, Norways most knowns astronomer and leader of the Norwegian Astronomical Society, got lots of conveniences from different places about a bright fireball over Østfold county in the southeast part of Norway. It was observed over 300 kilometer away. With a hope to find meteorites we informed media (local and national) immediately about the fireball and ask people to look after possible meteorites. Fortunately Martinsen took care of the stone who was close to hit him the day before. And after he read the newspaper about the fireball he called Knut Jørgen - could it be? Knut Jørgen and I, as a meteoriteexpert, traveled immediately down to Martinsen for examine the stone. (its only about 20 km from my home) When I took the little stone Martinsen found in my hand I was shocked - Martinsen had found Norways 14 meteorite! The stone give me a strange feeling, here in my hand I have a superfresh fragment of a stone who has travelled billions of year in the space before it hit the earth. Obviously it was a stonemeteorite but it was very smooth grey inside with no visible chondrules or other things visible to the naked eye, but it was magnetic. With a 10 x lupe the details got more apparently. Because it was little sooty I thought, could it be a carbonaceus? I used all my literature and the web in many days to find out the where in the classification it belongs. After few minutes Knut Jørgens Wife Anne-Mette found the big piece on 34 gram at Martinsens campfire and it was nearby invisible in the burned coal.

The media was very enthusiastic and many reports come from people who had found suspicious stones. And we took many trips to check stones in a large area. But it was areas aound Moss who should given results. Althought these areas have difficult hunting conditions, with forests, fields and water, it hold also much roads, private houses and industrial buildings who also should be conclusive to more finds.

Three days later, on monday 17 july, Frode Johansen from Moss called us. The family Johansen live 4,5 kilometer from Martinsen. They had just come home from holiday when Frode should cut the grass in the garden when he saw broken branches and a big black stone crashed into the grass. Johansen had fortunately also read the newspaper about the fireball and called us. What a sight we got! A wellshaped, beautiful black meteorite at 752 gram - we was in ecstasy!

After some days in my home we brought the stone to Natural History Museum, Geological department, university of Oslo (NHM). We thinked that a such stone belongs to the museum. Later Frode Johansen and the NHM made a deal.

I send the pictures of both stones to Mike Farmer and Rainer Bartoschewitz, and suggest that it could be a carbonaceus and maybe a CO, but I haven`t such experience like these guys. They was overcome and it wasn`t many days before they arrived Moss! Those first I meet was Stefan Ralew and Andi Gren from Germany, and after them many others.

Several days gone before next stone come up. Here is what Michael Mazur wrote: "On July 23rd, 2006, just as I was turning onto the highway to head back home to Stavanger,

I received a phone tip reporting a possible meteorite find within the town of Moss. I had previously followed up a number of other reports which turned out to be terrestrial rocks. This one was different though. The description of a black fusion crust and light gray interior was too good to pass up. After seeing the rock and confirming that it was, in fact, the 3rd Moss recovery, I went to the site with a norwegian friend (whom I had met on the trip). After about 10 minutes of searching the area, I found more fragments. A quick assessment revealed that a relatively large stone (~2kg) had broken on impact, scattering its remains over an area of roughly a couple of hundred square meters. After debating a bit about collection technique, we quickly started to gather and weigh the material.
Plucking the pieces out of the short grass using pieces of Al foil (so as to not touch the rocks with bare hands) is something that I'll never forget. I'm sure that we looked quite foolish to passersby in the busy intersection but, it was a price worth paying"

So after additonal some days, on the evening 30 july Mike Farmer and I going to check a plankdefence who could have been hitten by a meteorite, a tip from Robert Ward, but after talk with local people it was hitten by a car. Robert was at the hotel when Mike and I search further with driving around. And late in the evening we drived in to a parkingplace on a industrial area, out of the car, looking around and there, close to a small wall we found our stone!... in many many pieces. It had hitten the surface of concrete and been spread out 20 - 30 meters. We collect some pieces before go back to the hotel and picked up Robert and drive back. Together we found hundreds of pieces at proximately 800 gram. Unfortunately many pieces had been smashed of cars and tractors. The landingplace was only a knoll with grey dust and we tasted the material who was create before our own planet.! (well, no alien look or antenna so far, he he) For me it was the first time for finding a meteorite, and a fresh fall, 20 km to drive from my home in my own country was fantastic!. It was also on my daughters birthday 14 july, finish with her 14 year and Norways 14 meteorite! And self for Mike, who has found many meteorites, was this a very nice experience. Thanks to Robert Ward who get us out that evening.

It wasn`t over with that. On friday 7 august roofworkers Arne Bill and Tor Henning Skau called Knut Jørgen. They repaired a roof on company Norgesgruppen building UNIL, only 850 meter from family Johansen. It had begin to drip water from the roof into the factory and the workers found a stone who had penetrate the roof. with 10 cm. They showed us a fantastic stone on 676 gram and it match the Johansen stone perfectly.

The owner of the building Norgesgruppen wanted to donor the stone to the Natural History Museum in Oslo (NHM) and a presentation with the media present. Representants from Norgesgruppen, NHM, meteoritesearchers, roofworkers and journalists climbed up on the roof to look at the hole in the roof.

The two best pieces, 750 gram and 676 gram, are at the NHM in Oslo. Rest of this fall are more or less in privat collections worldwide. I wish to thanks all meteorite people who visit Moss, for their participation, for hunting and social presence, without you fewer meteorites would be found and the story much more boring.

Facts:

Fall: 14.07.2006 time: 1020

Place: Moss, Norway

Type: Carbonaceus, CO 3,6

Finds: 5 stones Total weight: 3,7 kg

Norways 14 meteorite.

..and here some links to additional information

http://tin.er.usgs.gov/meteor/index.php?code=36592

http://www.moss-avis.no/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060718/NYHET/107180012

http://www.moss-avis.no/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060810/NYHET/108100034

http://www.aftenposten.no/viten/article1390933.ece

http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=126008

http://www.aftenposten.no/viten/article1415588.ece