the Gao meteorite
Stato: Guinea Anno: 2003 Notizie: The second stamp depicts a specimen of the Gao meteorite, also known as Gao-Guenie. This meteorite exploded in the atmosphere and fell about 60 kilometers to the north of the town of Leo in Burkino Faso, Africa on March 5, 1960 at about 17:00 hours. Stones fell in a triangular area about 13 kilometers on each side. Some stones penetrated the roofs of village huts, but no one was seriously hurt. Estimates of the total weight of the specimens so far found range from 100 kilograms to 500 kilograms. Gao is classified as an ordinary olivine-bronzite chondrite. Many specimens display a beautiful dark brown fusion crust, evidence of the intense heating and melting of the outer layer of the meteorite as it fell. |
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