Researchers, astrophiles and enthusiasts are hunting for its remains. The event occurred early in the morning of October 1 in Tuscany, between the towns of Agliana and Quarrata.
On October 1, a meteorite fell in Tuscany, in the area between the towns of Agliana and Quarrata, on the border between the province of Prato and Pistoia. Now it is hunting for its remains that researchers, students, astrophiles and enthusiasts are looking for in the whole area. These fragments of the celestial object are in fact a real treasure for science. Suffice it to say that to date there are more than 1000 meteorites that have fallen and are present in the world's major collections, while there are more than 31,000 that have been found.
For this reason, the Museum of Planetary Sciences in Prato has organized a real hunt for the weekend of October 9 and 10.
The meteorite fallen between Prato and Pistoia
The path of the small bolide, on the morning of October 1, was recorded by eight cameras, located in Tuscany and central Italy, of the Italian surveillance network Prisma. Thirty volunteers participated in the hunt, including the astrophilic group of Montelupo Fiorentino, led by Maura Tombelli, the greatest discoverer of asteroids in Italy, and the astrophilic group of San Marcello Pistoia and Prato. On Saturday morning, the meteorite researchers left from Agliana, in the area between the highway and the Bure stream. The rock that was searched for is small, only a few centimeters in diameter. It should weigh between 30 and 100 grams and have an intense black color.
Where the meteorite fell
According to the experts of Prisma of the National Institute of Astrophysics (Inaf), it is likely that the celestial object fell in a strip that includes the hamlets of La Ferruccia, Sant'Antonio, Vignole, Olmi, Valenzatico, Case Ferretti up to Lucciano. "The calculated strewn-field, i.e. the area affected by the fall of any fragments of the meteoroid, is an ellipse of about 7.5 x 2 km," they wrote on the Prisma Inaf website. The affected area would therefore be very large, due to the very low inclination, about 32 °, compared to the Earth's surface of the trajectory of the meteorite. Given the size of the research area, the strewn-field was divided into squares of 200 meters of side.
In the meantime, at the Natural History Museum in London, it is possible to observe the Winchcombe meteorite, the rarest and most valuable that has ever landed in Britain. While, recently, it has been discovered a strange object in the Space half asteroid and half comet.
Stefania Bernardini