Just in time for the global asteroid day on Thursday, all of Austria is looking for a small astronomical body. At least that’s what Ludovic Ferrière would like. A meteorite is said to have fallen somewhere over Carinthia on Friday night – and the Frenchman Ferrière, geologist and curator of the meteorite collection at the Natural History Museum in Vienna, called on the public to help.
SZ: Monsieur Ferrière, have you been to Carinthia and searched?
Ludovic Ferriere: Naturally. I went there right at the weekend and told the people that they should please hand in all the finds to me, not to some German meteorite hunters, who of course also came straight away.
Always those Germans… Where exactly is the meteorite supposed to have landed?
Somewhere between the municipalities of Eis and Draurain in the district of Völkermarkt.
Meteorites, that’s big business, isn’t it?
Yes, meteorites are also big business, unfortunately – but they are also very important to science. Thanks to observation cameras, we know that the celestial body, which weighs around 120 kilograms, began to shine at 2.10 a.m. on Friday at an altitude of around 90 kilometers above the town of Zanitzen in Styria and headed south at a speed of around 18 kilometers per second. The fireball was visible for five and a half seconds over 83 kilometers.
But Styria was lucky that the heavy thing landed in Carinthia.
It would be terrible if private collectors were faster than us now. For four years I have been the curator of the third largest meteorite collection and largest meteorite show in the world. So far, only eight meteorites have been found in Austria. Most recently a stone meteorite in July 2021. The so-called Kindberg meteorite.
But 120 kilos, you really don’t want to put them on your head…
He may only have weighed that much when entering the atmosphere. On impact, it was probably only a few kilos.
Oh. What are people sending you now?
Photos, but sometimes also green stones, pieces of iron or what they fell off their bikes. I’ve even been sent a small glass polar bear for my assessment. I received about 100 emails about the most recent case, but haven’t had time to evaluate them.
Have you always been interested in celestial bodies?
Yes, as a little boy! I grew up in the Loir-et-Cher department. This is where most of the meteorites in France are found. My brother, who I shared my bedroom with, was always a bit worried that the stuff I put on our shelves might be radioactive. A terrible scaredy-cat!
Monsieur Ferrière, how do you recognize a meteorite?
Dark on the outside, light on the inside, that could be a first criterion. Blistering, on the other hand, often indicates slag. And please be sure to use aluminum foil when touching it!
How so? is it radioactive?
No no. Aluminum foil helps to keep contamination out. With a meteorite find you enter the terrain of science!