The Föllinge meteorite—find or fall?

Abstract

The Föllinge meteorite was found in 1932 in a field during ploughing. Being very dense and Fe-rich, it was at first thought to be an ore boulder. High contents of Ni, however, indicated that it was a meteorite and it was subsequently investigated and described in detail by Buchwald. New information about the discovery is presented here that indicates that the fall probably occurred only a few days before the discovery. However, minor corrosion of the meteorite suggests that it may be several hundred years old. The discoverer has been interviewed. He was one of a group of boys who observed a “ball of light” coming from the south to southwest and hitting the ground in the same field where the meteorite was found, about 75 m from where they were standing. He recalls a hissing sound during the descent but no sound on impact. Being dark at the time, no attempt was made to search for the object.

Key Words:

• Iron meteorite
• Föllinge
• Ottsjön
• Jämtland
• northern Sweden
• fall
• find