Birmingham fireball and deposited rocky fragments- 17th July 2020

[Bazil_SW]

Fresh thread created.

I live in Birmingham, UK. For the last year I've been investigating some unusual rocky fragments that fell from the sky as a fireball and landed on our garden on the evening of 17th July 2020. My wife and I heard it happen; a warbling whistle with underlying hum like discharging electricity, and two CCTV cameras caught it. Ours captured the fireball fragmenting close to the ground, some pieces of which bounced off the house, the other, from 0.1 miles away, captured a reflection of the fireball streaking in the sky above the houses.

One piece, which was seen to bounce off the house in the footage, was found on the drive <12hrs later which still smelt burnt. The rest of the fragments were found in our garden over the course of few weeks. The fragments have very unusual surface features. To date I've recovered about 250g of material and even started to assemble the original body, which would have been about 3-4" across.

The material is low density, typ. <1g/cm3, but some fragments are more melted or fused than others, and these are denser, but <1.6g/cm3. The structure is a porous fine grained angular dark matrix which is highly carbonaceous, and there are lots of crystalline structures on the surface and suspended within the matrix. I've found that fresh fracture faces are black but turn brown on cooling from red hot temperatures, by the formation of brown crystals.

Apart from a lot of pictures and looking at it through a microscope I've had a bulk composition analysis done (SEM, EDX & XRPD), results below. Some of the material is currently undergoing a petrographic analysis, results due the 12th August. I'm keen for it to undergo a triple oxygen isotope analysis, as i understand this will really help identify its origin, but I've not found anyone willing, even offering to pay for it!

I've spoken to many meteorite experts from around the world, the Natural History Museum London, UK MON, but they dismiss the material as slag. I have it from experts on industrial waste products and volcanic material that it's neither, so the mystery continues!

The cctv and some more images are linked on imgur here:https://imgur.com/a/Glvbnqp

@Red-Coat. Thanks for the replies. I've not checked the German site yet, but UK mon linked 2 other sightings to mine:*https://ukmon.imo.net/members/imo_view/event/2020/3485

My theory for the white mushrooms relates to a process like in this paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/pap...Bush/2d90847a2410300d0c4bf06a4c43cdcc16be721b



Bulk composition:

Composition %

C 45.28
O 34.27
SiO2 9.62
Al2O3 4.19
Fe2O3 2.37
CaO 1.34
MgO 0.83
K2O 0.72
P2O5 0.41
SO3 0.37
TiO2 0.25
NaO 0.188
MnO2 0.16

100

 

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[rebbel31]

Cool stuff , watched the vids from the other thread. Hope it’s the real deal or could it be space junk? Anyway would love to hear the result

 

[Bazil_SW]

Update on this. The petrographic analysis has come back, the material has some meteoritic characteristics, though there's always a 'but' as they could not tie it to any existing meteorite, but they could not identify what it is either. One suggestion was a piece of graphite, maybe from a dead satellite, that plunged to earth and was melted and altered along the way, interesting idea, I'd not thought of that. Overall the mystery still continues. I'm keen for analytical conclusion to its ultimate origin (terrestrial or extraterrestrial), and understand that Triple Oxygen Isotope (TOI) and Cosmic Ray Exposure analysis might help here - does anyone know how or who might be able to support? I've approached UK Open Uni and experts at University of Gottingen for TOI with no joy.

Cheers!

For posterity some additional images of the strange surface features are attached. All these features are found on the fragment collected the next morning that was not subject to any rain/water/moisture.

 

[Bazil_SW]

For interest, I got the thin slides back today and took some images through the microscope (10x objective, 16x eyepiece).

One of the characteristics they determined as 'meteorite-like' was the presence of chondrules, but these were found to be empty and expected to be filled with olivine, serpentine and other Mg-Fe silicates. They also commented on the angular cooling textures observed and that cooling textures like these are observed in meteorites. however, they are formed in metal alloys, rather than silicates. Just some of the many oddities.

The overall objected comprised of fragments that are un-melted, partially melted or 'glassy', and some that are even fused/vitrified on the surface. I sent them two samples for prep, but only the glassy sample received the full workup. They did however give the un-melted sample a once over for curiosity.


'Unmelted' Sample:





'Glassy' or Fused Sample

 

[Red-Coat]

Hi Bazil. My thoughts as follows...

The date of your observation (17 July 2020) coincides with the commencement of the Perseid shower that year. So, streak observations in the upper atmosphere would be expected from around that date, but not fireballs close to Earth’s surface, although they may appear so to an inexperienced observer. They’re caused by small pieces of cometary debris from the tail of Swift-Tuttle which burn up in the atmosphere and have never been reported to have reached the surface of Earth as meteorites. False reports of suspected meteorite falls generally increase during times when Perseids (and showers of other cometary origins) are seen in the sky because many folks wrongly connect what they see in the sky with what they find on the ground.

The analysis for your specimen shows a remarkably high level of carbon. Much higher than you would find in meteorites, whether derived from cometary trails or asteroidal sources. Non-experts continually reiterate the statement that “carbonaceous chondrites are rich in carbon”, but that’s a myth. The statement is pulled from reputable sources, but quoted out of context since “rich” is being used in those sources in a relative sense… ie compared to other meteorite types. Typically carbonaceous chondrites only contain about 3% carbon (mainly as graphite), anything above 5.4% would be highly unusual, and 45% (as in your specimen) would be unheard of. For ordinary equilibrated chondrites, the carbon level is typically below 0.2% and a little higher if they are unequilibrated.

Among the achondrites, ureilites are the highest in carbon and often exceed the values found in carbonaceous chondrites, but with levels only up to about 7% (often including microscopic diamonds along with graphite and other materials).

Interplanetary dust particles, including those with presumed cometary origins, typically have around 12% carbon, but never as high as your 45%.

For something as carbon-rich as your specimen to have survived passage through Earth’s atmosphere without burning up and deliver pieces of the size you found, it would have to have been enormous as an incoming object. Sufficiently large that I would have expected a much stronger body of evidence for its arrival than seems to be the case.

There is one possible exception to the above. Nickel-iron meteorites sometimes contain discrete nodules of graphite within their overall composition and those can be very high in carbon. Here’s a chunk cut from a fragment of the Campo del Cielo meteorite from my collection. The silvery lamellar plates in the upper areas are the nickel-iron alloys kamacite and taenite, but the two dark areas below are graphite nodules:



These nodules are very carbon rich, sometimes up to relatively pure carbon, but there are two reasons why I don’t think that’s what you found. Firstly, although the nodules can be quite large, they only survive burn-up in the atmosphere when they are within the body of the meteorite and protected by the nickel-iron surrounding them. Otherwise, the exposed graphitic areas are the first to be burnt up, ablating away to leave the characteristic regmaglypts often seen on nickel-irons. Secondly, these nodules (or at least the larger ones) invariably have veins of nickel-ion running through them, which is a probable indicator that they are a ‘shock-melting’ product. That means that although they are primarily composed of carbon, they have at least some native metal and will be attracted to a magnet. Your analysis showing the only iron to be Fe2O3 at a level just over 2% doesn’t support that possibility.

Were it not for the associated observation, I would have said this is likely to be industrial slag of some kind. With the associated observation, it would be too much of a stretch to believe it’s coincidental and unrelated to what you found… even considering possibilities such as proximity to a flight path for East Midlands Airport and a piece of hardcore falling from the undercarriage of an aircraft, or a piece of industrial waste being flung up from the wheels of a truck traveling on a nearby road. These things do happen, and have been responsible for several ‘meteorwrongs’ in the past.

My conclusion would be that it’s not meteoritic, but might be from a piece of space debris of man-made origin. There’s a lot of it up there and it does come down from time to time. Quite what type of debris would have such a high carbon content I know not.

 

[Red-Coat]

PS: The carbon would also have to be in a form that doesn't burn readily. Polycarbonate? That's pretty flame resistant, melts rather than burns and is commonly used in telecomms hardware, especially where electrical insulation is important and where low weight is desirable.

 

[Red-Coat]

We should also not forget what you originally described as "very odd surface features, one also attached a white mushroom-like structure about 0.2mm dia. of which there are several!":



Those surely have to be from something man-made as a multi-component object? What would have that appearance and resist melting, while the other portions have not? Some kind of high-tech ceramic maybe?

You're correct that oxygen isotope analysis would tell you where the specimen fits with respect to the "Terrestrial Fractionation Line" (TFL) and confirm whether or not it has a terrestrial origin. Also correct that cosmic ray exposure age would determine how long it has been in outer space (if at all).

I don't know of any laboratories who would routinely offer these kinds of analyses but, even if you found one, it's likely to be expensive and - in my opinion - you would be wasting your money.

 

[Bazil_SW]

PS: The carbon would also have to be in a form that doesn't burn readily. Polycarbonate? That's pretty flame resistant, melts rather than burns and is commonly used in telecomms hardware, especially where electrical insulation is important and where low weight is desirable.

Thanks Red-Coat for the good information and most considered reply yet.

Coincidentally, Petrolab also floated the idea of 'altered' space junk in the VC I had with them Monday afternoon - possibly a part that started life as something made from graphite.

I'd like to have it radiocarbon dated, and have tried a few places with no joy, do you or anyone know a lab or company that can support?

 

[Red-Coat]

Thanks Red-Coat for the good information and most considered reply yet.

Coincidentally, Petrolab also floated the idea of 'altered' space junk in the VC I had with them Monday afternoon - possibly a part that started life as something made from graphite.

I'd like to have it radiocarbon dated, and have tried a few places with no joy, do you or anyone know a lab or company that can support?

You're welcome.

Wessex Archaeology should be able to provide advice on finding a suitable accredited laboratory for RC dating:

https://www.wessexarch.co.uk/archae...MI-KzcmsXR8gIVRbDtCh3GiABqEAAYAyAAEgLdPfD_BwE

I honestly think you would just be wasting your money... and a quote from a suitable laboratory might discourage you further.

 

[Bazil_SW]

You're welcome.

Wessex Archaeology should be able to provide advice on finding a suitable accredited laboratory for RC dating:

https://www.wessexarch.co.uk/archae...MI-KzcmsXR8gIVRbDtCh3GiABqEAAYAyAAEgLdPfD_BwE

I honestly think you would just be wasting your money... and a quote from a suitable laboratory might discourage you further.

Aye they connected me to Beta Analytics, who can't help unless it's a submission from a recognised institution etc.

There is a wild card element I've not mentioned here, and that is the microbiology that's been found inside and embeded in the fragment that was found the next morning (and was not exposed to rain or water), and the other fragments.

I've recently started discussing it more here:

https://www.scienceforums.net/topic...-surface-features-and-microbiology-inside-it/

 

[Red-Coat]

I've recently started discussing it more here:

https://www.scienceforums.net/topic...-surface-features-and-microbiology-inside-it/

Good luck with that discussion but frankly you've now gone out on such a limb that I have nothing rational to add to your wild conjecture.

If this specimen bounced off your house (and especially if it bounced off a tiled roof) in a semi-molten condition and ended up in the bushes in your garden, there's no telling what organic materials it may have picked up in the process. And yes, microbial life is certainly known to exist in the area between about 5-10 miles above the surface of the Earth.

If you believe you've found a piece of cometary debris containing extraterrestrial organisms which provides proof for a 'panspermia' hypothesis, then you can count me out.

 

[Bazil_SW]

I'm mearly suggesting it as one hypothesis in the number of possibilities, and putting it out there for discussion. Science should be about open discussion.

Enough people have pointed that the material is not meteoritic, so given that another sensible explanation is required.

I'm also putting it out there for posterity purposes.

 

[Bazil_SW]

Good luck with that discussion.

If you believe you've found a piece of cometary debris containing extraterrestrial organisms which provides proof for a 'panspermia' hypothesis, then you can count me out.

I appreciate your stance, but my material aside, is that concept so impossible? Generally speaking I mean.

 

[Red-Coat]

I appreciate your stance, but my material aside, is that concept so impossible? Generally speaking I mean.

Nothing is impossible, and I have an open mind too. I'm much more inclined to believe that meteoritic material arriving on the early Earth provided some of the chemistry and organic building blocks that enabled life to develop, rather than delivering some form of already-developed primitive life.

 

[The hunter Awang]

Red-Coat, He is Zhao Zhiqiang

 

[Bazil_SW]

The investigation of this event and recovered material has stalled sadly, I think it's as far as I can take it. I'd like to preface my reasoning for pursuing it even this far, with a series of logical statements:

- did the material fall from the sky = YES
- is it unusual and have strange surface features = YES
- did it fall at the start the Perseids shower (caused by the debris field of comet Swift-Tuttle) = YES
- are there any confirmed cometary meteorites in the collections = NO
- does the material contain microbiology = YES apparently undamaged diatoms and other structures are embedded deep inside the fragments and within the material matrix
- has this happened before = YES, reference Polonnaruwa stones 2012 (though these findings are not universally accepted)

The investigations to date (SEM, EDX, EDX & XRPD, EDX & petrographic) were not able identify characteristics akin to existing meteorites, nor any of the expected characteristics of meteoritic materials, but it still remains unidentified. I have not been able to confirm the age or origin of the material by analysis such as Triple Oxygen Isotope, Cosmic Ray Exposure (as these are highly specialized), or even if it has a 'terrestrial' age by carbon dating. The prevailing theme is that that the material is anthropogenic, and possibly the remnents of an artificial satellite that have fallen back to earth. That might explain the:

- observable differences between adjoining fragments (perhaps different components?)
- some of the odd biological looking structures found on the outside (perhaps something collected from the atmosphere?)

However that does not answer anything relating to the intact biologicial structures found inside the material.

The anonymized petrographic report is attached, and their prefacing email is below.

To be clear, I'm not claiming that this material is one thing or another, instead putting it, and what I have found, out there for posterity and open discussion.