Sikhote Alin was a very large meteorite fall that occurred on February 12, 1947 at 10.30am in the Primorskiy Region, Sikhotaulin Mountains of eastern Siberia. It was witnessed by many people who reported a fireball brighter than the sun that came out of the north, descending at an angle of about 41 degrees. The noise of the explosion was heard 300km away. It left a cloud of dust and fume 30km in length which was visible for several hours. The largest fragment weighs 1.75 ton and is on display in Moscow. The sikhote alin meteorite is one of the few iron meteorites. It has been studied extensively by many Universities and may also be found in several museum collections.
This meteorite has a unique crystallization known as the Widmanstatten crystal structure. These lines are shown as a unique etched pattern on the meteorite. This pattern is the result of the meteorite cooling in outer space over billions of years. Although not as finely detailed as other meteorites, these pieces still display this pattern when cut and etched with acid.
