![]() ![]() and became part of the meteorite collection in 1803. The fragment shown here (879.7 g) is a gift from Czar Alexander I. This class of meteorites is known as pallasites in honour of Peter Simon Pallas. It has a mass of 700 kg and is a stony iron meteorite, composed of iron-nickel metal and the mineral olivine. The Krasnojarsk meteorite was discovered in Siberia (Russia) in 1749 and described in detail by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas. ![]() It was donated to the Museum after his death in 1827. Chladni (1756-1827), founding father of meteoritics. ![]() The fragment shown here (235.3 g) was part of a private collection belonging to Ernst F.F. The main mass is now on display in Ensisheim’s town hall. For a long time, the meteorite was kept inside the church to keep away evil spirits. It came down in a wheat field near Ensisheim – a small town in Alsace - on November 7th 1492, making a loud rumbling noise and weighing 127kg. The Ensisheim meteorite is the oldest remnant of a meteorite fall observed in Europe. In 19, a large number of meteorites from the Northern Sahara desert was purchased. The first significant extension of the collection took place in 1900, when mainly American iron meteorites were purchased. Fellow scientist and expedition companion Gustav Rose undertook thorough studies of the Berlin meteorite collection and developed a classification system for meteorites in 1864 that laid the foundation for modern meteorite classification. Chladni is considered to be the founding father of meteoritics as a science, publishing for the first time his hypothesis of the extraterrestrial origin of meteorites in 1794.Īlexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) donated to the Museum nine meteorites in total, some of which he had collected on his travels, while others were given as gifts to the famous naturalist. As a result, Chladni bequeathed his private collection comprising 41 meteorites to the Museum. ![]() Weiss was also in close contact with Ernst F. Weiss (1780-1856) expanded the collection by purchasing 17 meteorites from the famous chemist Martin H. Seven years later, mineralogist Christian S. When the Berliner Universität was founded in 1810, the meteorites became part of the Mineralogisches Museum. The Russian Czar Alexander I added another piece of this all-important meteorite to the collection in 1803. It contained among other things a piece of the stony-iron Krasnoyarsk meteorite that was described for the first time by Peter S. Gerhard (1738-1821), founder of the Berlin Mining Academy. The beginnings of the meteorite collection date back to 1781, when a mineral collection was purchased from Carl A. Meteorites have been named and registered in the central database of the Meteoritical Society, which is accessible online. The whole collection has been digitised in a local database. Meteorites are also an integral part of the Museum’s permanent exhibition, as they bear witness to the evolution of the solar system. The collection material includes complete meteorites, fragments and over 1,300 thin sections. However, over time, stony meteorites, stony-iron meteorites and iron meteorites from all over the world have been added to the collection, which increased its international relevance. As the collection dates back to the early stages of meteorite research, it contains many pieces from Europe, including many main masses of meteorites found in Germany. The meteorite collection comprises 6,000 specimens of approximately 4,100 different meteorites. ![]()
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