Gibeon is a meteorite that fell in prehistoric times in Namibia.
It was named after the nearest town: Gibeon, Namibia. The
meteorite was discovered by the Nama people and used by them to
make tools and weapons. In 1836 the English captain J. E.
Alexander collected samples of the meteorite in the vicinity of
the Great Fish River and sent them to London. There John
Herschel analyzed them and confirmed for the first time the
extraterrestrial nature of the material. Strewn field  The
fragments of the meteorite in the strewn field are dispersed
over an elliptical area 275 kilometres (171 mi) long and 100
kilometres (62 mi) wide. Composition and classification  The
term Gibeon encompasses the whole meteoritic material fallen
from the sky during this fall. This material is classified as
iron meteorite belonging to the chemical group IVA. Gibeon
meteorites are composed of an iron-nickel alloy containing
significant amounts of cobalt and phosphorus. The crystal
structure of this meteorite provides a classic example of