Largest Fragment Of The Body Located To Date

A piece of the meteorite that exploded over Russia in February weighing over 1,255 pounds has been recovered from Lake Chebarkul. The five-foot long piece of the meteorite was pulled from the lake by divers who wrapped it in a special covering while it was still under water and then dragged to shore.

The BBC reports that the rock broke into three large pieces as scientists attempted to weigh it on shore. The scale also broke as the weight of the pieces topped 1,255 pounds.

The chunk of the meteorite gouged an 18-foot-wide hole in the ice of the lake when it impacted the surface on February 15th.

The piece of the meteorite was in about 40 feet of water. Since the incident in February, divers have reportedly recovered four or five pieces of the meteorite from the lake, according to the Russian news channel Vesti 24.

Dr. Caroline Smith, curator of meteorites at London's Natural History Museum, confirmed to the BBC that the piece was a meteorite based on a visible fusion crust and other features obvious in photographs of the object.

(Image from YouTube video captured February 15 in Russia)

FMI: www.star-bits.com/ID.htm