Hoba Meteorite

Hoba meteorite is named because it lies on "Hoba West", a farm in the Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia. Although it was discovered, the large mass of the huge meteorite has not been removed from its original location. Its main mass is more than 60 tonnes. This makes it the largest meteorite is known in the world and the largest naturally occurring piece of iron on Earth's surface. It is believed that the Hoba meteorite fell more than 80,000 years ago.

Hoba meteorite | The World's Largest Meteorite in Namibia

Meteor in Africa — The object fell to the Earth's surface at a terminal velocity. This allowed it to remain intact and caused little excavation. The largest known meteorite, measuring 2.7x2.7x0.9 meters and containing a tabloid metal body. It is composed of 84% iron, 16% nickel, and 0.76% cobalt.

World's largest meteorite — Jacobus Hermanus Brits were the landowner who discovered the Hoba meteorite in 1920 while ploughing one of his fields using an ox. He heard a metallic scratching sound, and his plough stopped abruptly. The Hoba meteorite was identified as a meteorite and the obstruction was removed. In 1954 the curator of the American Museum of Natural History in New York tried to purchase the Hoba Meteorite. It is known from this fact that the estimate of meteorite worth would be invaluable.

Namibia Meteorite — The meteorite was remained in Namibia due to transport problems caused by its weight. A group of locals became concerned about the matter and brought it to the attention of the authorities. It was declared a National Monument the following year.

Image credit Dave Conroy

Meteorite in Namibia

Image credit Internet Archive Book Images

Large Meteorite

The Hoba meteorite — It is quite surprising that the Hoba meteorite has not been surrounded by any crater. A meteorite this large should be able to punch through the atmosphere at an extremely high speed and strike Earth with enough force that it can blast a large crater. However, there is no crater around the site of the meteorite in Namibia. This indicates that the big meteorite fell to Earth at a slower rate than was expected. Scientists believe the object's flat shape may have contributed to its slow impact velocity. The Namibia meteorite has a life expectancy of between 190 million and 410 million years. Although the site was made a National Monument in 1955 you could not visit it until 1985. Grootfontein Namibia is now a well-maintained site. It offers a great opportunity to see it close up. It is a small tourist attraction that is visited annually by thousands.