Bacubirito Meteorite

Bacubirito

The Bacubirito meteorite at the Centro de Ciencias de Sinaloa
Type Iron
Composition 88.94% Fe, 6.98% Ni, 0.21% Co, 0.005% S, 0.154% P, trace SiO2.[1]
Country Mexico
Region Sinaloa
Coordinates 26°12′N 107°50′W / 26.200°N 107.833°W / 26.200; -107.833Coordinates: 26°12′N 107°50′W / 26.200°N 107.833°W / 26.200; -107.833
Found date 1863[2][3]
Alternative names Sinaloa, Ranchito

The Bacubirito meteorite is the largest meteorite found in Mexico, the second largest in the Americas and the fifth largest in the world.[1] Found in 1863 by the geologist Gilbert Ellis Bailey[4] in the village of Ranchito near the town of Sinaloa de Leyva, it is an iron meteorite weighing between 20[1] and 22[2] tonnes. It measures 4.25 meters long, 2 meters wide, and 1.75 meters high.[1]

In 1959 the meteorite was moved from its original site to the Centro Cívico Constitución, in Culiacán. In 1992 it was again moved to the Centro de Ciencias de Sinaloa, where it is currently on display.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Meteorito de Bacubirito es el quinto más grande", noroeste.com, accessed 2014-06-15
  2. 1 2 Bacubirito, Meteoritical Society, accessed 2014-06-15
  3. Gerardo Sánchez Rubio (contrib.), Las Meteoritas de México, pub. UNAM, 2001, ISBN 9683693598, p.37, accessed on Google Books 2014-06-15
  4. "Top 5 meteoritos", National Geographic, accessed 2014-06-15

Bibliography

The great Bacubirito meteorite (J. British Astron. Assoc. 83, 380-382, 1973)

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