From Wikipedia - Reading time: 3 min| Nōgata | |
|---|---|
| Type | Chondrite[1] |
| Class | Ordinary chondrite[1] |
| Group | L6[1] |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Coordinates | 33°43′N 130°45′E / 33.717°N 130.750°E[1] |
| Observed fall | Yes |
| Fall date | 19 May 861[1] |
| Found date | 19 May 861 |
| TKW | 472g[1] |
The Nōgata meteorite is an L6 chondrite meteorite fragment, found in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is believed to be the oldest fragment associated with a sighting of a meteor fall. Witnessed by a young boy on May 19, 861, who led others to the impact site, it was accepted as having come from the sky.[2] It was analyzed and described by Masako Shima of the National Science Museum of Tokyo and accepted by the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society in 1979. Shima published a complete analysis of the chemical makeup of the fragment in 1983.[3] It is on display in a Shinto shrine in Nōgata.[4]