Witnessed fall of Tissint Mars meteorite stirs excitement

A meteorite from Mars is a rare bird indeed. There are only about 60 known. A witnessed fall of a Martian meteorite is rarer still. The last time it happened was on October 3, 1962 in Nigeria when the 40 … Continue reading →

A fragment of Tissint, the newest Martian meteorite to land on Earth, photographed on January 4 this year. It's covered in glistening black fusion crust created from melting of the outer surface layer during its fiery fall through the atmosphere. The last Martian meteorite seen to fall was Zagami in 1962. Credit and copyright: Abderrahmane Ibhi
A meteorite from Mars is a rare bird indeed. There are only about 60 known. A witnessed fall of a Martian meteorite is rarer still. The last time it happened was on October 3, 1962 in Nigeria when the 40 lb. Zagami meteorite landed about 10 feet away from a farmer who was chasing cows from his field. Fifty years later another piece of Mars came zinging through the sky, this time in Morocco.
At about 2 a.m. local time July 18, 2011 nomads and military personnel south of Tata, Morocco were awakened by sonic booms and a bright light ...