GREENSBURG, Kan. — A rare 1,400-pound (635-kilogram) meteorite
was discovered seven feet (2 meters) underground by a collector
in an area long known for producing prized space rocks. Using a
metal detector mounted on a three-wheel vehicle, Steve Arnold of
Kingston, Ark., found the huge meteorite two weeks ago in Kiowa
County’s Brenham Township in southern Kansas. The meteorite is
classified as an oriented pallasite, a type noted for a conical
shape with crystals embedded in iron-nickel alloy. Only two
larger ones of that type are known to have been found: a
3,100-pounder in Australia and a 1,500-pounder in Argentina.
Those translate into 1,400 and 680 kilograms respectively. The
Kansas rock was found in the same area that in 1949 produced a
1,000-pound (450-kilogram) meteorite now on display at the
Celestial Museum in Greensburg. Meteorites change shape as they
enter Earth’s atmosphere. An oriented meteorite, which is rare,
maintains a stable flight rather than tumbling. “It is
aesthetically the type of meteo